The Medici Girl
by Eponastory
Summary: After being married off to the second oldest Auditore son, Contessina must learn to accept the Auditore name and forget about her Medici roots. The only problem with this is that the Pazzi will not let her forget it. Now plans are in motion for a plot that will end the Medici family and it's rule over Florence along with the Assassin that keeps meddling in the game.
1. Bickering Over Breakfast

**Hello Readers! Now, reading 'The Medici Girl: Reluctance' is not required, but you should read it anyway to help emphasize where Contessina stands in this story (for the better part of a few chapters) with Ezio. That being said, I did do a little explaining on that, but not much. With that said, here is the original story 'The Medici Girl'. **

**Note: Updates will be slow due to college. I do have quite a few chapters done, but my schedule does not allow me to update often. So expect maybe one to two weeks per chapter.**

**If you like AC: Unity, Please check out my story 'The White Rose of Paris' that will link up with this story (I'm not going to explain how yet) **

December 1476, Florence

The morning was unusually brisk for Florence. Contessina was warm when she woke up in Ezio's arms, but when she eased herself away from him, she felt the chill of the air. The fire had gone down to smoldering embers, so she added another cut log to the rack and stirred the fire awake. Ezio would likely sleep for another hour or so since he had come in late during the night, so she dressed in a simple red dress that hugged her figure nicely. Instead of doing her hair in an elaborate style as she used to before she married, she let it fall over her shoulder in a golden twist. She went over to the table by the bed and picked up the book of poems she had been reading before quietly leaving the room.

The sun had barely risen when she stepped into the courtyard of her new home. She stopped short when she saw Giovanni walking in from his latest adventure in the red and white attire she had seen him in on more than one occasion. Giovanni did not deny that he knew she saw what he was wearing, but Contessina did not mention any of it to him. There was a quiet understanding between her and Giovanni.

"Good morning, Contessina." He said with a smile as he removed his gloves. "It is a little chilly this morning." He told her as he walked to his study.

"Yes, a little." She told him with a smile on her face. She knew that Giovanni did more than banking. Quite a few times she had seen the hooded man walk into the Palazzo Medici to speak with her cousin, Lorenzo. "Messere, is it possible to speak with you later on a matter I've been thinking about quite a bit lately?"

"Contessina, you know you can talk to me anytime you like." He put a hand to his chest and she gave him an apologetic look. "Do not worry, we can talk later after breakfast." Giovanni bowed his head before walking through the door and closing it behind him leaving Contessina by herself. She walked over to the bench in the far corner and opened the small leather bound book to the page she had left off on the night before.

Flipping the page she began to read the next stanza as the birds began to flutter about the yard. Mornings gave her the time to be by herself. The stillness of the day before Florence became bustling with activity was the only time she had to reflect before the Auditore household came to life. Breakfast was always a mild affair with Ezio always coming in late with disheveled hair and half awake. While Federico and Cammilla were always down for breakfast right on time. Petruccio was absent sometimes due to his health, but Contessina always made sure to bring him broth later. She would often sit and read to him as she had a soft spot for her little brother.

She did not know how long she sat in the courtyard before she realized the sun was fully above the horizon. Breakfast was about to begin, but she could not find the courage to put down the book just yet. The poems were a tale of a bittersweet romance between a Goddess and a mortal, however their love was obviously doomed from the moment the mortal man saw her bathing. The goddess was merciful to him because he did not mean to stare at her naked form, but only to drink from the spring she bathed in. Thus, the tale of their love began with her mercy towards him. If only her own tale could be as dramatic as the poems.

Contessina begrudgingly closed the book before making her way to the dining room where she found Maria sitting with her own book. The matriarch loved to read just as much as her daughter-in-law, however their tastes in material were dramatically different. Maria preferred more realistic and tragic tales, such as those of the Greeks. Contessina was a hopeless romantic in any case, only because she had not had the whirlwind romance she dreamed of with her husband. That was not to say that she had not loved Ezio before they were betrothed; she did, but it was more of a platonic love. Any seeds of romance had been promptly stepped on by Ezio himself and his wanting to stay away from love. That was until he met Cristina.

When Contessina first met Cristina Vespucci, they had become fast friends. Almost sisters in a sort of way, yet they both had pined for a romantic adventure with the man of their dreams. Contessina had not expected Cristina and Ezio to find each other, however she encouraged their relationship to blossom by putting her own feelings aside along with a little help from Federico. Even though Contessina kept telling herself that she would find her knight one day, Ezio was not him. When she was just shy of fourteen she developed a small fascination with him, but it was short lived because her mother had drilled it into her that she would never be able to choose her own husband. That task went to Lorenzo de'Medici, who loved making political matches. She was one such match and now she was not sure if she was happy or not.

"You are thinking very hard about something." Maria's voice snapped Contessina from her thoughts. She had not realized she had been standing next to the table for some time with a blank stare. "Sit down, Contessina. Tell me all about it before the menfolk come in." The Auditore woman said motioning to the chair next to hers. Contessina did not hesitate to sit and put the book in her lap. "Now, what is troubling you?" Maria gave her a warm smile as she put down her own book to give the blond girl her full attention.

"This marriage." Contessina let out a sigh and let her shoulders sag. "I know Ezio cares. He has never done anything to hurt me, but I feel like I do not know him anymore. Or that I never really knew him. Mona, I feel as though we are strangers sharing a bed when we should know one another well by now." Contessina put her hands on the table in frustration and Maria reached to grab them. "He seems content with me, but I know he still loves and wants to be with Cristina. I wanted them to be together too, but that is over now." She said and Maria squeezed her hands.

"I know you didn't want this, Sina, but you must accept that things are as they are. You're heart does you so much credit for wanting my son to love who he wishes. I feel great sorrow that you are in this position, but I beg of you, try to let it come naturally. Ezio will never forget her or what he feels for her, but he has never forgotten about you and what you mean to him." Maria said looking into Contessina's blue eyes. "I did not raise my children to be fools. Trust him and he will not let you down, but you must give him time."

"Give who time?" Giovanni's voice interrupted as he strode into the dining room and sat down at the opposite end of the table from his wife. Maria smiled, squeezing Contessina's hand once again before sitting back in her chair.

"Ezio, of all people" Maria told him. Giovanni was quick to change from curious to understanding.

"Ah, well, that is to be expected of you both. An arranged marriage is not easy on either husband or wife." Giovanni did not dismiss Contessina's feeling on the matter, but he also did not address them completely. Although, it seemed he was not keen on discussing the subject at the table either. "Now, where are the rest of our children, Maria?"

"Still asleep as is their custom. The only one who is up for breakfast every morning is our Contessina." Maria spoke as she stood from her chair and placed a hand on the blond girl's cheek before leaving the room. "I will go wake them."

While Maria was going to wake her children, Contessina pulled her book from her lap and began to read again while Giovanni seemed to be reading a letter of his own. The silence was comfortable even though seconds later the sound of Federico having a small argument with Cammillia could be heard as they came down the stairs. This was a common occurrence between the two. On one hand, they were clearly made for each other with his laziness and her neurotic behavior. On the other hand, they may not be the best match because of his unwillingness to compromise and her stubbornness. Cammillia was a feisty auburn haired woman from Volterra who had escaped the siege by sheer luck. Her brown eyes were always full of fire and when Federico did something she did not like, she would raise hell about it. Federico loved every fiber of her being though and that was enough for the both of them.

The arguing stopped just before Cammillia entered the dining room with Federico right behind her. Both seemed to have put smiles on their face as if their arguing was nothing to worry about, however Giovanni cleared his throat when Federico went to move his wife's chair for her to sit. Nothing was said, but the implication that Giovanni heard everything was there and then the eldest Auditore son became a little red in the cheeks.

"Is there something we should know?" The Auditore patriarch said as Cammillia sat down and Federico pushed her chair in for her.

"No, Father. Nothing to be excited about." Federico said.

"He did not want to get out of bed this morning. As usual. I hope our children do not inherit his laziness." Cammillia blurted out as her husband went to sit across from her. "Mio Dio, I do not know if I could live with two of him." She said in annoyance.

"So you are saying you cannot live with me now?" Federico asked in offense. Contessina did not pay any attention to the two as their arguing had clearly been a misunderstanding. Of course, this was normal for the two.

"That is not what I said!" The auburn haired woman defended herself. Giovanni on the other hand, was rubbing his temples because the arguing was going on far too long for his liking. "I only meant that I do not want_ our_ son or daughter to be a slouch like you!" She picked up a fork and stood up out of her chair, pointing the utensil at her husband. This grabbed Contessina's attention and she moved to grab on to Cammillia. "Let go Contessina! I'm going to carve the laziness out of him!"

"How are you going to carve out laziness with a fork?" Federico retorted. "You can't even hurt a fly!"

"Enough." Giovanni said feeling the tension in the air moving towards his head as well.

"I may not be able to hurt a fly, but I can definitely hit you!" Cammillia was about to throw the fork when Giovanni caught her hand.

"I said enough." He said in a stern tone of voice that he rarely used. Federico immediately sat down in his chair not wanting to cross his father. "Now, if you two are going to argue again, I suggest you take it far out of Firenze and into Toscana so no one can hear you."

"Sorry, Father." Federico apologized as his wife stared at Giovanni in shock.

"What is going on in here?" Maria said as she walked in on the scene. Giovanni let go of his daughter-in-law's wrist and cleared his throat again before sitting back in his chair.

"A little argument. Nothing to worry about Mi Cara." He said. "Where is Petruccio?"

"He is not feeling well this morning." Maria told him as she went back to her seat and settled in the chair. "Ezio, will be joining us soon."

"I'll go see to him." Contessina said composing herself after letting her sister-in-law go. "He may have trouble waking up this morning." She said before walking out of the room herself and up the stairs. When coming to their bedroom door, Contessina did not bother to knock and when she entered Ezio was doing his best to get dressed. "How much wine did you have last night?" She said grabbing his black vest off the chair by the fireplace and bringing it to him.

"Enough. Why?" Ezio said with a half awake expression on his face as she helped him put the vest on. "I can dress myself."

"I know, but your family is waiting for you to eat breakfast." She said tying the laces on the front of his clothing. "I know you are hungry as much as I am." Contessina did not say anything as he looked up while she continued to make sure the laces were in good order. She paused for a moment before saying what she knew was true. "You went to Cristina's again last night, didn't you?" She held her breath waiting for the answer she dreaded.

"Yes." He told after a long moment.

"I understand. You love her and if everything were different, she would be standing here, not me." She stopped what she was doing and backed away from him with a smile. "This is just an arrangement for the benefit of our families, not for our benefit." Contessina told him before turning away and moving towards the door.

"Contessina, wait." Ezio called to her and she stopped, but did not turn to look at him. He could not find the words to say to make her feel accepted. He knew that she was distancing herself from him, further than he thought possible. Sure they shared a bed together, but that is_ all_ they did. She let him hold her in the night if only to make her feel less miserable or to make her feel as though she did matter. When daytime came they hardly saw each other unless it was during meal times. "Let's talk about this."

"What is there to talk about? We are still friends Ezio, the only thing that is different is that we shared a vow. I don't expect you to treat me any different than before or even stop your adventurous ways with women, but please don't think I am stupid. I knew that you and Cristina were talking again." She sighed before turning around. "Nothing has changed except you keeping this from me and that does hurt me." She was not some fragile maiden who could fall apart with the drop of a pin. Other wives would be furious that their husbands were sleeping with other women behind their backs.

"I do not think you are stupid, Contessina." He approached her but she held up a hand to stop him. "I should have told you when Cristina and I started to see each other again. I know you told us you were willing to let it go on if only for our happiness. I don't know why I did not want to tell you."

"I meant what I said and I still mean it even if it costs my own happiness." She said nothing else before turning to the door and opening it. "I would do anything for the both of you." She said as she left Ezio there to think about what she said.

For once, Ezio felt like he had doomed any chance of making Contessina feel as though she were part of his life. Cristina was all he could think about and it was costing him his friendship with Contessina. The last thing he wanted was to have a bad relationship with his wife over his lover, yet he could not get the Vespucci girl out of his head, or his heart. Cristina was still unwilling to make amends with the blond girl over the marriage. Not only did she humiliate Contessina, but she broke the Medici girls heart. Ezio felt shame in that as well because his wife was alone. All of her friends had turned against her because of Cristina.

"I do not deserve her." He said to himself before leaving the room and joining his family for breakfast.

Breakfast went as usual with all of the commotion between the Auditore children, save for Petruccio, who was too sickly to join. The bickering between Federico and Cammillia continued well into the meal while Contessina stayed quiet. Ezio could read her face clearly and saw that she was picking at the cheese and sausage on her plate. Claudia was being as boisterous as usual when Federico halted the argument with his wife for a moment to pick on her. While the family was carrying on, Annetta came in with a letter in her hand and gave it to Contessina.

"Sorry to interrupt, Signora, but a Medici messenger came with this. He said to give it to you immediately." Contessina nodded and took the letter from the servant before breaking the seal and opening it. Ezio watched the blond girls eyes dart back and forth as she read the contents of the letter with a hint of concern in her face. He looked towards his mother who had the same intense look as she waited for clarification. When Contessina put the letter down she sighed.

"My mother would like for me to go see her today, but this letter is from Giuliano." She did not elaborate exactly what was said in the letter, but the look she gave to Giovanni at the end of the table suggested that she had something to discuss with him after breakfast. "He would like for me to go riding with him next week if I have the chance. He could just come here himself and ask me in person instead of sending a long winded letter." She said folding the piece of parchment and placing it inside her book.

"He is just as lazy as Federico." Cammillia announced and Ezio couldn't help but to chuckle at the comment. The face his brother mad was priceless.

"I take offense to that." The eldest Auditore said.

"But it is true. There has to be at least one lazy child in every family. Giuliano is the lazy Medici who loves wine and women just as much as you." Contessina took her turn at poking fun of Federico, but she did it with the slightest smile on her face. "I know you and him have gone to the same holes in Florence together before."

"He was the one who showed me how to flirt with the girls." Federico said with a goofy grin on his face and a little pride. "Which is how I met you Mi Amore." He said in the sweetest of voices which only served to get him kicked under the table by his wife.

"That is a lie and you know it!"

Contessina did not say anything more before she politely excused herself from the table. She held her book in her hand as she walked outside into the courtyard to wait for Giovanni to be finished with his own meal. While she waited she sat on her bench and read the stanzas in her small book of poems. The Auditore family was louder, more vibrant than her own family. The Medici had always been about stature. No toe out of line, no boisterous affairs at the table, and definitely no arguing in front of one another. She could see why her mother did not like the idea of her marrying into the family at first, but she could also see why Ezio was chosen. It was because of Giovanni Auditore.

Contessina knew little of what Giovanni did when he was not working on finances. She knew that he was more than just a banker for sure and that he worked closely with Lorenzo and Uberto Alberti. The three men were close friends, but what did Giovanni do for them? She picked the letter out from between the pages of her book and read the contents again. The letter had been written by Giuliano, but they were Lorenzo's words. She could tell that much because Giuliano would come to get her if he wanted to see her. The letter mentioned more than her mother wanting to see her, it gave specific details about the Pazzi and how they were planning something. The Pope was also mentioned in the letter, but she did not understand why it would be addressed to her, unless it was actually meant for Giovanni.

"Contessina?" She looked up to see the man in question. "Please, come inside." He motioned to the door of his study and she got up in a haste to move into the room. "What is it you want to speak with me about?" He said going to sit in his chair. Contessina took the letter from her book and handed it to him.

"What I have to say is not as important as this. I think it is meant for you, but they addressed it to me. It is clearly written in Giuliano's hand, but I know Lorenzo's words when I see them. If Giuliano wanted to see me, he would not send a letter." The blond girl said as Giovanni took the letter from her and began reading it himself. She felt that there was more to her marriage into the Auditore family than political reasons and this was proof of it.

"You are very observant, Contessina. You see things others do not and that does you credit here, but outside of this house it could make you vulnerable. The letter was indeed intended for me, but the only way to get it here without our enemies knowing was to address it to you. You have done well." Giovanni gave her a smile along with his praise of her aptitude. "Now I am beginning to see Lorenzo's mind a lot clearer." He said also confirming her own thoughts.

"Messere, I have never asked about this, but you are not just a banker. Are you?" She did not hesitate to ask the question out of her own curiosity, but more along the lines of confirmation.

"No. I am more than a banker." He said not elaborating on anything more. "I ask that you keep this information to yourself, Contessina. Do not even speak to Ezio about it." He said knowing she would not dare to mention it to her husband. "I do not want to put my family, including you, in any danger. Although, I fear that danger is coming sooner than we think."

"What danger?" Contessina scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "The Pazzi?" She looked down at her hands feeling dread at the name. "They mean to destroy all of us. Your family and mine."

"They will do anything to gain control of Firenze and I need you to be ready for it, Contessina. If something should happen to our families, I am counting on you to make sure my work is continued by my sons, should they survive this." The Medici girl did not fully understand what Giovanni was communicating to her, but she felt that it was a cryptic warning of something to come that involved the destruction of Florence as a whole.

"I have a confession to make." She said looking up at Giovanni. "When I was a child, I saw you visiting Lorenzo in his study one night after he had taken over the Medici bank from Zito Piero, I could not understand why there was a man standing there in strange attire talking to my cousin. He had to be some mercenary or a thief, but when he placed his hand on the man's shoulder, I knew it was a friend. Lorenzo thinks highly of you, Messere Giovanni. Whatever it is that you do, it is vital to Florence's success, if not all of Italia. Not just the Medici. So, I place my own trust in you, just as I do Ezio."

"Your words touch me, Contessina. I do not know what is going to happen, but it is good to know that I have your support and it gives me comfort." He gave her a smile and put a hand on his chest in thanks. "As for Ezio, I will speak with him. I know about his little affair with Cristina and I also know that even if you agreed for it to happen, it should not out of respect for you. You are too good of a woman for this to happen."

"Thank you, Messere Giovanni." She said before getting up and bowing her head to him in respect. "I think I will go ask Claudia if she would like to go to the market with me. I need to find some new material for another dress." She smiled at him.

"I will see you later then. Enjoy your time and have fun, Contessina." He said as she turned to open the door and left the study.


	2. Abuse in the Streets

**I decided to go ahead and post the second chapter while I finish up the one I'm currently working on. Let me tell you, this is shaping up to be a hurricane of a story. Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story and doing well in life! **

Claudia followed Contessina through the streets of Firenze as the sun rose to its zenith in the sky. The weather had warmed some, thankfully, but it did not help with the wind that picked up during the daylight hours. The wind did not affect the people of Firenze in the slightest as they busied themselves with their trade in art or selling goods. The city was bustling with activity more than usual which made it harder for the Auditore girl to keep up with Contessina who was so focused on her mission. When the blond girl asked Claudia if she wanted to go with her to find material for a dress, this was not what the younger girl had in mind.

If it were not for Contessina's blond hair that stood out in a sea of dark haired italians, Claudia would have lost her for good. Contessina stopped ahead to scan the crowded street for her and luckily Claudia was not too far away, so she ran up to the blond without hesitation. She had never seen the streets so busy before, although it had only been a couple days since Christmas and Claudia wanted to spend some of the florins that she had gotten.

"I thought I had lost you in the crowd back there." Contessina said as Claudia grabbed on to her arm.

"It is_ very_ busy today. I hope they haven't sold out of those pretty gems at the jewelers over Christmas." The young Auditore said looping her arm through Contessina's.

"I hope not either because someone's birthday is coming up." Contessina smiled at her sister and pulled her along. "I would hate it if the gems disappeared all of a sudden."

"You don't think someone bought them all did you?" Claudia had been collecting the glass gems that came from Venezia since she was little. By now she had one of every color and size; if not more. The pink ones were her favorite and some had even been made into beads to string on a chain. "I was hoping to get a teal one this time."

"I'm sure if they don't have one there will be one in eventually. If not, I suppose we will have to go to Venezia ourselves to get it." The blond girl said with a giggle as they walked towards the seamstress' shop. "Now, if we go pick out some material for your new dress, I may be able to finish it with Cammillia before your birthday." It was no secret that she and the auburn haired wife of Federico were working on Claudia's dress for a couple months now. It was almost done, but it needed something extra. Not to mention Contessina needed material for her own dress because her birthday was also coming up in March.

"I have been wondering, do you love my brother?" Claudia asked catching Contessina off guard with the question. "I've known you for a long time, but I don't think I've seen you and Ezio act like my mother and father or Federico and Cammillia."

"I do love him, in a way. Not like your parents love each other, more like...close friends." She had to think about it a moment, but that was the best way to explain it to Claudia. "Ezio is complicated and I suppose I am as well. Do I think we could love each other like that? Maybe so, given the time or if we allow it to ourselves, but right now it is not something to worry about." She was being as honest as she could be without giving away her deepest secrets on the matter.

"I love Duccio, but I am not sure he loves me like I want him to." The younger girl said.

"The only way to know is to ask him. Otherwise you two will dance around each other and you will get hurt in the process." That was the last thing she wanted for Claudia. The girl was still young and had every opportunity to marry someone she loved. Someone who does deserve her, not the idiot boy who keeps stringing her along. "Come on, the shop is not much further ahead."

"Signora Contessina!" She heard a familiar voice through the crowd and spotted a recently made friend.

"Leonardo!" Contessina said as the artist came up to her and embraced her. "What are you doing away from your workshop?" She asked pulling away from him with a smile on her lips. She was truly happy to see him.

"Well, I was in need of a new quill for my writings, but I cannot seem to find one good enough. I keep finding goose feathers when swan is the best." He rubbed the back of his head in distress.

"I may know where to find a good quill, but first, I have to introduce you to someone. Leonardo, meet Claudia Auditore." She motioned to the girl at her side and Claudia curtsied in greeting. "Claudia, this is Leonardo da'Vinci. A very talented individual." She smiled.

"A pleasure Messer da'Vinci." The Auditore girl said. "My mother speaks very highly of you."

"Oh grazie." Leonardo seemed to blush a little with the compliment. "You're mother is lucky to have a beautiful daughter such as yourself." Compliments aside, the meeting was unexpected, but Contessina needed to get to the shop. "Now, Contessina, about that quill."

"Ah, yes. There is a shop on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio that just opened. The owner is very eccentric and imports a lot of goods from Constantinople, including some fine quills from different birds. You might find something you like there." The Medici girl said to her friend. "The owner's name is Hassim, he is from the east, but he is pretty reasonable."

"I take it Lorenzo deals with him exclusively?" Leonardo asked.

"Indeed. He sometimes imports rare books to put in my grandfather's libraries across Toscana." Contessina replied with a smile. "Perhaps if you mention my name, he might give you the best pick of the goods he has."

"I will do so." The artist bowed his head. "It was good to see you Contessina and very wonderful to meet you little Claudia." He said to both young women before walking off, but stopped and turned around remembering something. "Oh, I almost forgot. The paintings that Madonna Maria requested are finished, she can come get them tomorrow if she likes. I should be in my workshop all day as I am working on something very important."

"I will be sure to let her know, now get out of here Leonardo and go buy you a new quill before they sell out." Contessina said laughing.

"Right, well, adio." He smiled at the girls and turned back in the direction of Hassim's shop.

"Mother was right, he does like to talk." Claudia said with a grin. "But he is nice enough."

"That he is." Comparing Leonardo to Sandro was difficult. Sandro was a painter through and through, while Leonardo was a true inventor. She had seen some of his drawings when she had gone with Maria a while back. It looked like he was trying to invent something to help man_ fly_. Something that she could barely comprehend. "We should get to the shop now, Claudia."

"Right." The younger girl said following Contessina.

The two girls found their way to the seamstress' shop without anymore interruptions. As soon as they stepped inside, Gianna Baroncelli greeted them with her aging smile. She was a stout woman with greying brunette hair and arthritic hands. The poor woman had trouble mending clothes these days, but at least she employed good help from time to time. Cammillia even came to work for Gianna on several occasions to earn a few extra florins for herself.

"Contessina! Claudia! I did not expect you two to come today." The woman said coming from behind her counter as the two young women walked in. "What can I help you with, cara?"

"A bolt of material for the dress we have been working on. Something pale blue if you have it." Contessina said giving Gianna a small smile and a curtsey.

"I know just the thing." The woman moved away from the counter and to the wall where a selection of new material had come in shortly before Christmas from Venezia. "I was told this came from the Silk Road, but I cannot be sure. It is nothing like I have seen in a while." She pulled on a bolt with a cyan blue cloth that looked of fine satin. There was no way Contessina could afford it, but it would look absolutely lovely as an accent for Claudia's dress. "Here, take a look at it." Gianna said handing it to the blond girl.

"It is very beautiful and no doubt you are asking a lot for it." Contessina said showing it to Claudia.

"Mio Dio, this is expensive." The younger girl said fingering the embroidered designs on the cloth. "How much?"

"Five florins a stand. A hundred for the whole bolt." Contessina heard Gianna say. "But, I will give it to you for not even half that. I will take forty-five florins for that bolt. There is enough material on it to finish Claudia's dress and for you to make your own Contessina."

"Gianna, this material is exquisite, but you would be losing money on it for such a low price. We can't simply ask you to lower the price just for us." The blond protested but Gianna laughed before putting a hand on Contessina's forearm.

"Consider it a bargain because your family has done so much for me. If it were not for Lorenzo, this shop would be closed by the beginning of the year and let us not forget Messere Giovanni's generous loan. It is the least I can do." The woman said. Contessina looked to Claudia who only shrugged.

"Gianna, I can't let you lose a profit on this material, so let me at least pay for most of it. Will you take sixty-five for it instead? That way you can still make up for it later." She knew that the material was worth more than a hundred florin, but Gianna was stubborn.

"Alright, sixty-five florin. Not a florin more than that Contessina de'Medici." The older woman tried to sound as though she were making a hard bargain, but smiled nonetheless. "Or should I say Auditore now?"

"It is Auditore, but everyone still knows me as Medici and that is not likely to change. Firenze with all its progress and change cannot accept the change that comes with names." The Medici girl said with a small giggle. She opened her money pouch and counted out sixty-five florin before dropping the gold coins in Gianna's hands. "There, sixty-five. Not a florin more." She smiled.

"Bless you, dear girl. Give your families my love." The aging woman said as Contessina smiled before leaving the shop with Claudia in tow. Once the younger girl was in the sunlight she saw how bright and beautiful the satin really was. It was the color of the sky and her eyes widened seeing how the embroidering was actually a silver color.

"Mio Dio, this is_ bella!_ " She caught Contessina's attention who stopped to look at the cloth herself. The work that went into the cloth must have been months if not years. The blond could not believe Gianna let it go for so little and she had half a mind to take the bolt of cloth back into the shop to fuss at the older woman, but it would do no good.

"That Gianna. Sometimes I don't know whether to hug her or yell at her." Contessina said as the moved on to the jewelers. The shop was not much further down from Gianna's and it was run by a nice old man, Bernardo. He had spent his life going around Italia and even to Spain and France to learn the techniques of different jewelers. The old man created some of the most beautiful works in Firenze, but his hands, like Gianna's, were becoming too arthritic to work any longer. Bernardo's son, Renzo was taking over ever so slowly. "Come, lets get to Bernardo before someone buys all of your glass gems." She smiled at Claudia and walked ahead.

The shop seemed to be empty when the two girls came to it. The entire façade of the shop had been boarded up recently, every piece of jewelry was gone, and a for sale sign hung on the front. Contessina looked at Claudia trying to figure out what was going on. They had visited only a couple weeks ago, so what happened? Did Bernardo's health go down or did it have something to do with the Pazzi?

"_Scusi_, Signore, but what happened to the jeweler's shop?" Claudia asked a passing gentleman.

"You did not hear? Bernardo could not pay back his loan to the Pazzi, so they confiscated all of his stock and sold it." The man said before bowing out and leaving the two girls to absorb the news.

"What are we going to do?" Claudia asked her sister-in-law who seemed be upset over this news. "Contessina?"

"I have half a mind to go to the Pazzi and give them a thorough fussing, but Lorenzo would have my hide. This is all Francesco's doing. He wants nothing more than to have the power given back to the nobles and not to the people of Firenze. Lorenzo would never do something like this." Contessina felt anger towards the Pazzi for not giving any warning to Bernardo before shutting his business down. If only Bernardo had gone to the Medici then perhaps he would still be in business. "Come on Claudia, I suppose we should be getting home then."

"Well, if it isn't the little Medici girl." A voice that Contessina dreaded more than anything said from behind her. "Come to buy you a pretty ring?"

"Claudia, can you find your way home?" The blond asked her sister.

"Si, I can." The Auditore girl said understanding exactly what Contessina was asking her to do. "Be careful, Contessina."

"I'll be fine." She could hear Vieri's laughter as he spoke to the two friends he brought with him. "Go." Claudia did not hesitate to take the bolt of cloth and start walking back the way they came.

"Where is Ezio? Off with Cristina Vespucci again?" The Pazzi boy said with a laugh. "You know, since he doesn't give you any attention, I would be happy to take up his place."

"Vieri de'Pazzi! What do you want from me?" Contessina stood her ground as the boy came closer to her. "If you came to torment me again, do your worst. It is nothing compared to the torment you will receive in Hell."

"Such strong words for a little_ puttana_ such as yourself." He put himself in her space and reached out to touch her cheek. "No wonder Ezio prefers Cristina over you."

Contessina did not hold back the anger that boiled up inside her. She did not hesitate to slap Vieri as hard as she could and the sound of the contact of her right hand against his left cheek echoed through the street. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see what had happened. Vieri held his cheek before becoming enraged himself and raised his hand to strike her. Instead of slapping her with the palm of his hand, he backhanded her and she fell down onto the damp street with a yell of pain. She did not look up to see the faces of the men and women who were watching because she was embarrassed. The side of Contessina's face hurt where she felt Vieri's knuckles make contact with her cheekbones.

"Maybe I should have you escorted to prison for striking me, Medici." He stood over her and bent down as she tried to pick herself up. "Maybe that will teach you some respect." Vieri grabbed her by her hair and forced her up before spitting in her face. "Your cousin can't save you now and I forget, you are no longer a Medici. You're an Auditore now." Contessina glared at him through the pain and spit back in his face.

"Vieri! Get your hands off my wife!" Ezio's voice as demanding as it could be sounded like angels trumpets before the end. Contessina could see Claudia standing behind him quietly still holding on to the bolt of silk. Ezio must have been on his way to meet them when she found him. Thank goodness. "I'm not going to tell you again. I have no problem beating you to a pulp in front of everyone here."

"Fine, you want your little Medici whore, you can have her." Vieri said letting go of Contessina and pushing her towards Ezio hard enough for her to fall to the ground again.

"Contessina!" Claudia said dropping the silk onto the street before running over to the blond and helping her up. "Are you alright?" Contessina did not say anything, only allowed herself to be lead over to behind Ezio for protection. He glanced over at her and she felt incredibly sick all of a sudden.

"You are going to pay for this, Vieri. I don't know when, but you will." Ezio was not going to fight there in front of everyone and make a spectacle of Contessina's honor. There was more to the rivalry between the Pazzi boy and Ezio, Contessina was just another iron in the Auditore boy's fire.

"Fine. How about before sunset on the Ponte Vecchio? Both of us and our friends." Vieri said waiting for a response from Ezio.

"Fine. Sunset at Ponte Vecchio. I'll be there." There was no more said between the two rivals before the Auditore turned around to assess his wife who was more than ashamed at that moment. He put a finger under her chin so he could see the developing bruise on her cheek and suddenly grew angry. Vieri was known to be aggressive with women, he had tried before with Cristina, but he had never physically hurt her. Contessina, on the other hand, was a target of his physical aggression towards the Medici family. This had not been the first time that Vieri had singled her out in public, but it was the first time he had openly hit her.

"I'll be fine." Contessina's voice was shaky, but she was not crying. She was embarrassed and hurt, perhaps even stunned that this happened, but she would be fine. It was not Vieri's words that hurt her; she knew better than to listen to his false words, but the people around her heard them. Now they would think her marriage was a sham and in a way, it was. "I know you are going to go fight him, but you shouldn't. It is only going to get worse." She said putting a hand on his wrist. "He is only doing this because Francesco told him to."

"Be that as it may, I cannot let him get away with treating you like this. He hurt you, Contessina." Ezio was brave and honorable. He had never raised a hand to a woman in his life and never would for the rest of his life, yet he had no idea how much he was hurting her on the inside. She praised him for that outward bravery, but at the same time abhorred him for the way he seemed to ignore her more now than ever. "Claudia, can you take her home?"

"Si, brother." The younger girl said before picking up the silk from the ground and dusting it off. There was only a little dirt on it, but overall the material was fine. "Come on, Mother will help you feel better." Claudia said pulling on the blond who stood still giving Ezio a pleading look.

"Don't do it." She said one more time, but he turned away from her to start gathering his friends. She slumped in defeat when she realized he was never going to listen to her. Contessina allowed Claudia to pull her away in defeat.

In all her troubles, Contessina did not think about what she looked like in that moment. She really did not bother with cleaning herself up before going back to Palazzo Auditore for it would make no difference in how she looked anyway. The whole family was about to see her face and questions would be asked that she could not run from this time. Normally, it was the boys that came home roughed up from a fight, but today she was going to take the credit for that. She was well aware of the stares she was receiving as Claudia lead her through the busy streets of Firenze.

Shame and embarrassment were etched across Contessina's face as she walked into the courtyard to see Federico embracing his wife. When the couple realized that they were not alone anymore, Federico broke off the embrace to see who had come in. He was not amused in the least when he saw the bruise forming on the blond girls face. Cammillia gasped before covering her mouth with her hand and moving over to Contessina in a hurry.

"Who did this to you?" Federico's voice never became serious, but the tone he had adopted was only meant for those who angered him. He put a hand on her cheek and gently moved her head so he could see the bruise more clearly.

"It was Vieri de'Pazzi." Claudia said. "He called her awful things, Federico. It was horrible."

"Mio Dio, that boy is insane. He will do everything he can to torment the Medici." Cammillia said coming to Contessina and embracing her. "He should be thrown in jail for this." She could feel the blond girl shaking in her grasp.

"Where is Ezio?" Federico asked wondering if his brother knew about this.

"He is gathering his friends to fight Vieri on the Ponte Vecchio at Sunset." Contessina was able to say through her tremors. "Federico, I tried to stop him, but he would not listen." She put a hand on his arm and looked at him with pleading eyes. She wanted the eldest Auditore to go talk some sense into his younger brother, but she did not know if anyone could talk sense into Ezio at this point. He was obviously enraged by Vieri's treatment to her and so was Federico.

"It's alright, I'll go have a word with my brother." He grabbed Contessina's hand and squeezed it. "You'd think that after the talking Father gave him earlier he would listen more, but no. Ezio always has to find trouble."

"More like trouble follows him, Cara." Cammillia said allowing Contessina to lean on her a little. "Go take care of your brother and I will take care of Contessina." Federico nodded before leaving the Palazzo. "Come, let's get you cleaned up." The auburn haired woman lead Contessina inside.

Later when she was being scrubbed down in the bathtub by her sister-in-law, Contessina reflected on everything that happened. She sat there in the warm water feeling the bruises being soothed by the oils that Cammillia had put into the water and the smell of lavender kept her calm as the woman rubbed her sore shoulders. She had not expected Vieri to hit her back, most men would not hit a woman, but Vieri was not most men. He was, ever since she could remember, seeking attention. When he did not get it, he did horrible things.

"I remember when I was a child and I had met Vieri for the first time. He was sweet then, like any boy was. My father had just died and we had moved to Firenze." Contessina started her tale to Cammillia. "He gave me a small bundle of daisies and I remember putting them in my hair. As he grew older, I believe his father and uncle had started telling him lies about the Medici. After that, he started to target me for relieving his frustrations and I also believe he was always jealous of Ezio."

"That is not so surprising." Cammillia said as she picked up a comb and started running it through the blonds wet hair to get the tangles out. "All boys start off sweet and gentle, but it is their father's that turn them into monsters. That goes without saying that their fathers were raised by monsters as well. Not all men are monsters and not all monsters are violent. My father was a greedy man. When Volterra was to be attacked all he cared about was getting his money to safety before me or my mother. In the end, I lost both my mother and my sister to the siege." Cammillia said as she gently combed the blond strands in her hand. "My father was not violent, but he was full of gluttony."

"Vieri is a product of violence, I suppose." Contessina said resting her head on her knees. "I should be thankful that I have married into a good family, but right now, I'm torn."

"The Auditore men are different from the rest. They believe in the power of choice and hold little ambition to control others. I don't think there is anyone in Italia that can rival these men and the way they value that freedom." Cammillia's voice gave away her admiration for the Auditore brothers and the Father. "Ezio will not treat you like other men treat their wives, you are not a posession to him so do take that into consideration about his affair with Cristina. He is giving you freedom that most women do not and can never have."

"You are saying he is giving me the freedom to choose another man?" Contessina asked her turning to look at the auburn haired woman.

"Maybe, that is a conversation you and he should have. I cannot tell you what he feels or thinks, but I can tell you that you do have a lot of freedom, most likely more than you ever had being a Medici." Cammillia seemed to have a picture in her head of the Medici being a prideful family who was more about propriety than the rest of Firenze. It was an assumption that most of Firenze made, but they clearly did not know Giuliano.

Contessina did not reply to that statement. She hugged her knees close to her body and began to silently shed tears as Cammillia worked to gently untangle her hair.


	3. A Talk Between Brothers

**Sorry for the late update, but midterms took up most of my time this week. This chapter was a hump. It is definitely not my best performance, but I stuck it out and now we can get on to the meat and potatoes. Contessina is probably one of my most difficult characters. I love creating strong female characters, but she is slightly different. Sure she has depth, but I haven't been a teenage girl in a loooooong time so its been hard to make her an actual teenager. She does have some Mary Sue qualities, but again, she is a teenager and I do feel like she is very typical bland right now. She does get better. Trust me. Character development is a thing!**

**To FallenWings8Tears: Thank you for your review! Here is a kitten (or puppy) for cuddles. **

To say that Ezio was well connected with the young noblemen of Florence was an understatement. There were those who supported the Pazzi, but the rest, well the rest were always ready to fight at the Auditore's side. As soon as word spread of Contessina's humiliation by way of Vieri de'Pazzi, Ezio had no problem finding his restless gang of friends. The oldest of the bunch was Ludevico Santorelli, a merchant's son who like Ezio and his brother had a beautiful wife to care for. When Ezio approached the tall man of twenty-two, he did not hesitate to take up the cause to fight.

"Can you get word to the others?" Ezio said walking beside Ludevico. "Tell them to meet at the Ponte Vecchio before sunset."

"Si, Ezio. I'm sure they will not pass up an opportunity to fight Vieri and his thugs. It's been a long time coming, Brother." The young man held out his hand for Ezio to take and the Auditore held no hesitation in clasping Ludevico's forearm. "At sunset."

Ezio nodded with a victorious smirk, but it faded as soon as he was left alone on the street. Most of the crowds had returned to their homes to carry on with other responsibilities leaving the city mostly sparse of people. The young man did not mind this at all because it gave him time to think for himself. There was a better place to think and so he made his way there.

Climbing up onto the rooftops above the Piazza Signoria, he watched the people below move to and from their destinations before sitting there with his knees bent. If there was ever a day he was more confused about his relationships with both Cristina and Contessina, this was the day. Contessina's bruised face set off a fire inside of him that he never really felt with Cristina, however the Vespucci girl was not as much of a target. When Ezio saw Vieri standing there with his hand digging into Contessina's scalp, he had not expected to say the words he did. He had called Contessina his_ wife_ in a fierce possessive way that he had never done with Cristina.

Seeing the beautiful blond girl hurt and humiliated did something to Ezio. He did not know exactly what, though he was sure to find out sooner or later. Inside he was being pulled into two different directions and the talk his father gave him that afternoon made it worse. Giovanni Auditore had never told his son's how to go about their life, but he told Ezio that there was no way of keeping the relationship with Cristina going. Not because of propriety or rumors, but because Contessina's life would be wasted. He was doing a disservice to her by keeping the affair going with the Vespucci girl despite his love for her. The problem was not Cristina, it was Contessina. She had distanced herself from him so much that he almost did not know her anymore.

The morning after their wedding, Contessina had gotten up early and left him in bed. He had no idea if she felt shame in her actions or if he did something to upset her. From then on, when they slept in the same bed there was no talking. Sure, she allowed Ezio to hold her during the night, but that was all. She had become cold, not the warm and smoldering Contessina he knew from when they were children. Ezio knew that it had to do with Cristina and now he was seeing his best friend fall apart before his eyes because of his actions.

His father was right. Ezio would have to make a choice and it was not an easy one to make. Would he choose to watch one woman wither away or let the other move on with her life without him?

"I thought I'd find you up here." Federico's voice disturbed Ezio's thoughts.

"If you've come to tell me to leave Vieri alone, you know it won't be that easy." Ezio turned his head as the elder Auditore sat down beside him to watch the people below as well.

"Little Brother, since when have I ever tried to stop you from doing something that you already had in your mind to do?" Federico said putting a hand on Ezio's shoulder and giving it a gentle shove. "It is not like anyone has the power to change your mind anyway."

"So what are you here for if not to try and stop my attempt at defending my wife's honor?" Ezio said the words again, but this time it was less surprising. He sighed.

"I came to tell you that you should give Vieri a good beating. I'd kill him for sure for laying a hand on Cammillia." Of course Federico would, he loved his wife even though they seemed to bicker about everything. "You know, I only found out this morning after breakfast, but Cammillia is with child."

"She is?" Ezio's eyes widened. "That is wonderful!" He gave his brother a pat on the back and a happy smile. "Do Mother and Father know?"

"No, we decided to wait until the new year to tell everyone. You are the first to know only because you are my brother." Federico said putting a finger up to emphasize his point. Ezio could see the look of pride on his brother's face at the prospect of being a father, something that he had not thought of before. "Ezio, I have to ask you a question and I need to know the truth."

"What is it?" The mood between them dropped from happy to serious at the snap of a finger.

"Do you truly love Cristina?" Federico's question was simple, but there was so much weight behind it and Ezio was not sure if he knew the honest answer himself.

"The answer is not as simple as it used to be." Ezio said.

"It never is, but you need to ask yourself if you really do love her can you let her go?" Federico knew what he was asking his brother and the question was an important one that Ezio would have to think on for a while. "You have time, Ezio, but not a lot of it."

"Father said something along those lines too. If I choose to keep Cristina close, I risk Contessina's happiness. It would betray our friendship and I am not sure she can handle that." He looked to Federico for answers.

"She is lonely, Ezio. Alienated, heartbroken, and humiliated constantly. Like you, she did not get a choice in marrying and her family does not offer the freedom we do, yet she is a prisoner in our home." Federico sounded like Cammillia in that moment. Ezio knew that Cammillia saw everything that went on in the family, even with Contessina. "You need to decide where your heart lies, Little Brother."

"No matter the choice I make, someone will get hurt." The younger Auditore said. "I would rather it be me." He looked over to his brother and gave a half hearted smile. "Since when did you become an expert in relationships?"

"Since I married my_ wife._" He put an arm around Ezio's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Whatever you decide, Ezio, I will do my best not to beat you to a pulp." Federico said patting Ezio on the back before standing up. "Now, I am going to run a small errand before your fight with Vieri. I may or may not join you later." Not at the risk of upsetting Cammillia, of course.

"You do that. I am going to sit here and think for a while." Ezio said waving his brother off with a frown. Federico was no help sometimes.

At Palazzo Auditore, Contessina was getting dressed when a commotion erupted outside of the front entrance. The blond paid no attention to it at first, but the shouting from outside did attract her interest. As soon as she was decently dressed in a simple light blue gown she went to the window to see who was yelling only to see Giuliano demanding to see her.

"He must have heard about what happened." Cammillia said taking a towel and trying to dry Contessina's hair.

"Giuliano has always been protective of me, so I'm surprised he isn't out hunting for Vieri." She closed the curtains before taking the towel from her sister-in-law and trying to dry her hair herself. "I can do this, Cammillia, you don't have to." She smiled softly. "Thank you for taking care of me."

"That is what sisters are for. I know you would do the same if it were me in your position." The auburn haired woman said putting a comforting hand on Contessina's shoulder. "Shall I go fetch Giuliano?"

"No, I will go to him." The young woman said making sure her dress was presentable to her cousin. She could hear him demanding to see her from where she stood in her room, yet she was not sure if she really wanted to go down and see him. Giuliano could be aggressive in how he handled these situations and Contessina felt that the moment he saw her, he would become very angry. Not at her; never at her, but at Vieri. She gathered her wits and moved to the door hoping that Giuliano could calm down enough to be reasoned with, however she was not sure she could do anything to help.

Contessina slowly crept down the stairs while Giuliano raged on to Giovanni about what he had heard about Vieri. She knew Giovanni was not at fault, but her cousin was quick to anger and asked questions later. He was a dog with a bone sometimes. The moment the dark blond man found something to latch on to, he clamped down and bit until it could no longer withstand the torment.

"Giuliano, my friend, I know what happened. You must calm down." Giovanni was working to calm the younger Medici down. "You will only upset Contessina more." The woman in question watched from the staircase as her cousin started to pace in the atrium of the palazzo.

"I don't know what Lorenzo was thinking! She is supposed to be safe with you, Giovanni, but all that has happened is further hurt and suffering." Giuliano said with a hopeless tone. "Your son cannot make up his mind on which woman he wants and it's clearly taking a toll on Contessina."

"I have already spoken to Ezio about this and he assures me that things will change." The Auditore man spoke up defending his son.

"But will they? Giovanni, Will they?" Giuliano asked in desperation. "I cannot bare to see her hurt as she is."

"I cannot either." The older man replied putting a hand on the younger's shoulder. "Which is why I plan to give her a task to ensure that she will be happy." There was a hopeful smile on Giovanni's face. "Contessina is very educated; very observant. I mean to put her natural talent to work in something I find she may enjoy."

"Which is?" Giuliano asked.

"The letter you wrote for Lorenzo, she knew exactly who it really was addressed to."

"Really?" The Medici replied. "I would expect as much from her. Contessina grew up forging mine and Lorenzo's handwriting, along with the entire household. Even our grandfather was not safe from her administrations, even though he was very much dead." The blond laughed. "Giovanni, if you want her to forge letters, all you have to do is ask. She enjoys it far too much."

"I mean to do just that." Giovanni gave him a generous smile as Contessina came further down the stairs. "This is where I leave you. Come find me when you two are finished talking, I have something else I would like to discuss with you." The older man patted the younger on the back as the girl made her way over to them.

Contessina could see the look on Giuliano's face. He was concerned for sure, but behind that concern was a fierce look of hatred for Vieri and possibly hatred for the circumstances she was in. She knew at that moment the Medici man was thinking about how his own brother was responsible for the pain and suffering of his dear cousin. Giovanni did not stay to watch the interaction between the two cousins; for that, Contessina was very thankful.

The moment the blond man strode up to her to look at the damage that had been done, his face hardened even more. His hands were cold when he placed them on her face. He had been clenching his fists so tight that the blood had all but left warmth in his fingertips. She was sure that she was being touched by winter itself in that moment. Giuliano was careful to avoid poking at the purple bruise that had been put on her face. Vieri backhanded her enough to damage her beauty, if only for a little while.

"How could this have happened?" The guilt in his voice over her separation from her family. "They were supposed to protect you."

"It's not the Auditore's fault, Giuliano. Vieri is in charge of his own actions and I made the first move." Contessina put her hands on his and removed them from her face.

"A man does not hit a woman even if she makes the first move." Her cousin said. "Vieri will pay for this." The angry tone in his voice sent a chill through the Medici girl. She knew her cousin well enough to know that he was not going to let Vieri get away with his treatment of her, yet Ezio was already on the path of vengeance.

"You and my husband have the same spirit." She put a hand on his forearm and smiled. "Ezio is a fighter like you and he believes the same as you." Then she sighed. "He is already looking for revenge."

"Is that so? Perhaps I should help him." Giuliano gave her a sly smirk before backing up, but she stopped him.

"No, please don't, Giuliano. Federico is going to stop Ezio and Vieri is not worth the trouble. It will only make matters worse for us." She pleaded with her cousin before pulling on him. "Come sit with me. Tell me what Sandro is working on these days." She sat him down on a bench and they began to talk.

"Sandro keeps complaining about how he has no more muses now that you are living with the Auditore. He wanted to paint you again." Giuliano said with a frown.

"There will be plenty of time for that later. It is not like I will be leaving Florence anytime soon and Ezio would not mind." She smiled even though her cheek gave her a little pain.

"Then come to Sandro's workshop tomorrow. Lorenzo will be out of Florence so that leaves the rest of us boring Medici alone to have some fun." He said grabbing her hand and squeezing it. "Maybe it will do you some good to get out for a ride tomorrow."

"I would like that." Contessina gave him a heartfelt smile.

The bustling crowds that had persisted through the high time of the day had tapered off to a few people. A couple sat on a bench overlooking the river, blissfully unaware of the gathering crowd of young men. Ezio had been watching them for some time before his friends started to arrive. At first, he thought of Cristina when he saw the old couple sitting there holding hands. He thought of how life could have been if he and Cristina had been allowed to marry. Growing old with her in this fantastic life he had as a bankers son. He imagined the family he would have with the woman he loved. He imagined he could have been happy.

Those thoughts turned from Cristina to Contessina once again. Contessina was a naturally happy person, but over the last year that happiness she carried with her for most of her childhood and onwards had vanished. She had become miserable. She tried hard to be who she was, however her circumstances turned her into a shell of who she really was. Ezio knew he would give anything to have the Contessina he knew back; to have her be Boudicca again. He hoped she would return again.

"Ezio?"

The young man in question blinked when he heard his name. Standing in front of him was a dark haired, green eyed, rough looking young man he had known since he was a boy. This same young man also had a fondness for Contessina as well, but had never thought to act on that fondness. Either way, Ezio knew he was going to show up to defend her honor too.

"Bruno, it's good to see you! I thought you were out of town with your father." Ezio hugged the other boy who seemed very excited to be home after such a long journey. He pulled back and let Bruno explain.

"I arrived back in Firenze this morning. Father is staying in Milan a little while longer to settle everything. We were there when the Duke was murdered and that changed most of our trade dealings between Milan and Venezia." Bruno said. "He sent me back to stay with Mother. She is not doing well these days since Lucia died." He mentioned his older sister who had recently died in childbirth.

"I am glad to see you, my friend. I knew you wouldn't miss an opportunity to fight." Ezio said.

"Well, if someone decides to mess with Contessina, they have to answer for it and you should never pass up a chance to send a message to the Pazzi." Bruno laughed putting a hand on Ezio's shoulder. "I missed Firenze."

"Did you? I thought you hated it before you left." Ludevico chimed in as he approached. "You were saying things like 'Firenze is a shithole' and 'there is nothing here for me now'. What changed?"

"Nothing. Firenze is still a shithole, but my friends live here and I missed them." They all started laughing.

"Such a merry band we make." Ludevico said throwing his arms over the other two boy's shoulders. "You know, I think we will win this fight. After that, we must go and celebrate."

"Celebrate with what? I'm broke." Ezio said pushing Ludevico's arm off his shoulders.

"That is not surprising. Ezio, you really need to start investing in your future instead of spending money on girls and wine." The older boy said and Bruno nodded. "See? Bruno agrees with me."

"I have a wife you know." Ezio said with a glare.

"Of course you do, but we both know you still...oh, look at that." Ludevico said as Vieri and his gang appeared. "Our challengers have arrived,_ Fratelli_!"

Ezio looked to where his friend motioned to see Vieri standing there with ten other Pazzi followers behind him. He was well aware that his group of friends could defeat Vieri's smaller group. Fifteen versus eleven is good odds and Ezio had the advantage.

"Nice of you to show up, Vieri. We were beginning to think you had run away." Ezio said stepping out ahead of his own gang. "No one would blame you if you did."

"It is you who should be running away, Auditore!" Vieri challenged, but Ezio blew it off before turning to his friends.

"You see that, Vieri is actually going to stand and fight today." The group of young men laughed. "It is time we settled an old score. This was a long time coming and I'm sure you all know what Vieri did today is unforgivable. Beating a woman, especially another man's_ wife_ deserves punishment, but we are going to do this the fair way. Sorting it out like the gentlemen we are will see that justice is done. Are you with me, Brothers?" The gang of Auditore supports shouted in return putting a smirk on his face.

"Your wife deserved what she got! Everyone knows she is a whore!" Vieri countered.

"I know for a fact she isn't." Ezio said begging for Vieri to insult Contessina one more time. "Say what you will Vieri, you are still a piece of shit!" He turned back to look at his friends when he felt an impact on his upper lip and then a sharp pain. He had no idea that Vieri would stoop to throwing rocks in what should be a fist fight. "Get them!" Ezio yelled out as the young men including Bruno and Ludevico ran passed him. He put a hand to his lip feeling the blood seeping from the cut while looking at the chaos around him. There in the far side of the fighting crowd stood Vieri. The Pazzi boy was only standing there watching the fight with a sadistic smile on his face until he made eye contact with Ezio. The sadistic smile slowly faded when he saw the glare Ezio had put on his face.

The young Auditore moved through the chaos as though he were Mars himself moving through a battle. As he passed through, some of Vieri's 'friends' came at him, but Ezio was a good fighter. The Auditore ducked as a fist came flying in his direction before he kicked the shin of the person who attempted to punch him. This was followed by a good hit to the gut and a hit to the face before the man was on the ground writhing in pain. Ezio kept walking forward with furious conviction as Vieri seemed to go from confident to slightly worried with every step.

"What are you doing! Don't just stand there! Get him!" The panicked voice of the Pazzi boy said as he pulled one of his men from a fight and pushed him towards Ezio. The man did not know what to do and looked at Vieri in shock before being punched in the face. "You idiot!"

"What is the matter, Vieri? I thought you were a good fighter." Ezio said in a deeper voice than usual.

"Fine! You want a fight, I will give you a fight!" Vieri yelled out before putting his fists up and slowly stepping towards Ezio with a hint of fear in his eyes. Vieri wasted no time in lunging at Ezio who managed to land a good punch to the Pazzi's right cheek. Ezio felt pleased with himself for that.

"That was for Contessina." The Auditore boy said before grabbing Vieri by the shoulder and then headbutting him. "And that was for everything else." Before throwing a right hook and hitting the Pazzi's left cheek. When Vieri recovered he held his cheek and pointed at the one who hit him.

"You and yours will pay for this Auditore! Mark my words! You have doomed your house!" Vieri said before stumbling away from the fight. Ezio did not think anything serious of the Pazzi's words, but there was a sinking feeling that maybe there would be some reprimanding from his father about it later.

"That idiot ran away again." Federico's voice came from behind and Ezio turned around to see his brother standing there with his fist full of a Pazzi supporter's shirt. "That isn't surprising in the least." He said pushing the man to the ground.

"Federico! You came after all." Ezio said going to embrace his brother. "I thought you were going to stay out of this."

"I had to see how my baby brother was handling this and I'm not disappointed." Federico took notice of the men currently on the ground rolling around in misery. "It seems you've got this handled."

"For the most of it, yes. Other than that, there are still a couple to worry about." Ezio turned and pointed to the last two men that were still fighting with the Auditore friends.

"I see some of us have gotten a little more than a scratch." The older brother motioned to Bruno who was holding his wrist while his knuckles seemed to have taken a beating. "He'll be alright."

"Ludevico looks better, except for his nose." It was obvious that the man's nose was a little more pronounced than usual and the small stream of blood coming from both nostrils that it was broken.

"You are a little beat up as well." Federico said. "Your lip."

"Oh. Vieri is responsible for that." Ezio put his fingers to his lip and then looked at them. The blood flow had slowed, but the sting was still there.

"Come, Ezio, lets go to a_ dottore_ . I'm sure mother and Contessina will be extremely unhappy about the incident." The older brother chuckled before putting an arm around Ezio's shoulders.

"How am I going to pay for this doctor of yours?" He asked and Federico looked at him.

"Wasted all of your coin for wine and women again?" Federico gave Ezio a knowing look and then patted his back. "I'm sure you can figure something out."

"Why not lend me some coin?" Ezio asked. "Or did you spend all of yours on your wife again?"

"Check their pockets, I'm sure there is enough to work with." He motioned to the men laying on the street. The younger brother said nothing before he did as he was told. Federico could not help but to think that everything he had witnessed was the beginning of a long battle between their family and the Pazzi.


	4. In the Night

**Two uploads in one day? Heck yeah. Apparently my spell check decided not to work (I have a problem with e and I being in reverse) and so, I have uploaded this chapter on Wattpad with a lottttt of mistakes. Ugh. Anywho, I really do hope you are enjoying the story. It's a bit slow right now, but you know what is coming, don't you? This chapter is short and it is meant to be a reflection of the family before…well…this is the deep breath before the plunge as Gandalf would say. Enjoy! **

The Auditore household was quiet after the Sun had retreated into the night. Annetta had busied herself with stoking the fireplaces around the palazzo while the other servant, Silvia, was going around to collect the basins from the rooms in preparation for the morning. Maria had settled down in her sitting room with Claudia by her side as they worked on embroidery. Cammillia sat at the desk in the corner writing a detailed outline of what she wished to see happen in preparation for her child's birth. In all, the only people missing were the men of the house and Contessina.

Cammillia had seen Contessina talking with her cousin about going for a ride the next morning, so she assumed that the younger girl was getting some much-needed rest. Horseback riding could take a toll on a woman, but she knew Contessina loved riding. In fact, the blond girl was very good at it, almost as good as Ezio. Federico, however, did not care for horses. Cammillia smiled at this before pulling out another piece of blank paper from the drawer and began to write.

_I remember one afternoon where Federico had an incident with a horse. It was a hot afternoon, stifling even. Sweat made my clothes stick to me and there was no relief. Many times, during the day I thought about jumping into the river to relieve the heat, but instead, I found myself going to a fountain to splash water on my face. It was there that I found the love of my life. _

_I had been brought to Firenze with what was left of Volterra. Since my parents were wealthy patrons of the Medici, Lorenzo brought me to Firenze to make amends. At first, I hated Lorenzo for taking me from my home, but it only took a certain boy to change that. That boy happens to be my husband now. Do not get me wrong, Federico is different to any man I have ever known. He is lazy. Frustratingly so. I love him, I do, but he can be bull headed. I love to go on walks in the countryside and even ride. For which I am grateful to Contessina for riding with me on occasion, but Federico, he dislikes horses. _

_The incident in question is a humorous tale. On that hot stifling day next to the fountain happened to be my dear, darling, lazy husband. Now, I had just turned thirteen. A good age of course, but I was stubborn and willful. To be fair, two stubborn people in a match could be disastrous. Either way, we were doomed from the start. Federico had brought his father's horse to the fountain for a drink and I had been there splashing water on my face and neck. My dress was very much wet at this point, yet I did not care about that. I was hot. My clothes were making me hot. The Sun was making me hot. _

_Hearing the sound of horseshoes on the cobbled street as they approached, I looked up. The horse was dragging poor Federico to the fountain. I could hear him cursing the horse, a big bay that was lathered in sweat. The horse was obviously too much for a boy to handle and the horse himself was very thirsty. Giovanni Auditore never harmed a creature, but he had ridden this horse hard to get back to Firenze. Even so, watching Federico being dragged to the fountain by the big bay was somewhat a relief. Not from the heat, but from my sultry mood. Poor Federico finally let go of the horse only to run to the fountain himself. I saw his hands were red and blistered from holding the horse's lead too hard. He dipped his hands into the fountain and the relief on his face made me laugh. To this day whenever someone asks him to go riding or even touch a horse, he clenches his hands and his jaw. If it were not for that horse though, I would not have tended to his hands and met the love of my life. _

Cammillia finished the last lines with a smile on her face. She had begun to write down her fondest memories when she was a child because she was afraid to forget what her parents looked like. She even drew portraits of them, though she did not think she had such talent, Leonardo da'Vinci said otherwise. Her writings were her best work. Embroidery was something young women of Firenze learned from the time they were small, and she was very good at it, but writing set her mind at ease.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind, Cammillia." Maria's voice pulled the auburn-haired woman from her thoughts.

"I was suddenly struck with a memory." She looked up at her Mother in Law with a fond smile. "Federico's hatred of horses."

"Ah yes." Maria knew exactly what she meant. "He doesn't like animals. Completely different from the rest of my children." The matriarch gave Claudia a side glance and Cammillia giggled when the younger girl blushed.

"What? It isn't my fault that animals follow me home." Claudia said putting her hands down in her lap. "I have to help them."

"No one doubts your charity to lost and helpless animals but bringing home a cat only for it to have kittens under your bed is not what I call productive." Maria chastised her daughter while working on the embroidery. "They were adorable, I will give them that."

"_Bene_." The teenaged girl nodded once. "Now we agree." She stood up from her chair. "I am going to my room. Fia is probably lonely."

"You may bring her cream." Maria said with a smile and the girl's face lit up before she strode to the kitchen. "I am surprised that poor cat has not run away yet."

"Neither am I." Cammillia said with a knowing glint.

Ezio's lip still hurt even though the doctor cleaned the cut well and put a salve on it. Federico had raced him up the church tower after that and now the brothers sat there looking over Florence in peace. He could see Cristina's home from where he sat and wondered if he should go to her one last time. Ezio swore to himself that he would not give in to temptation, yet he was not able too. Cristina was constantly in his thoughts; even now he was thinking about her soft skin and the way she squirmed underneath him when he touched her.

To a God-fearing man these thoughts would be considered a sin. The people of Firenze considered him a sinner anyway, but he persisted with his relationship regardless. Ezio never cared much for what people thought of him so far be it from him to judge everyone else. Contessina was raised to fear God being a Medici, however she seemed to not care so much for the religion. Cristina had the same view and still went to Mass every Sunday.

Ezio had his eyes on Cristina's open window from where he sat. He could not help but to think about her in such a sinful way and to make matters worse, this would be the last night. He promised. He always kept his promises, or at least tried to. He looked over to his brother who was in quiet contemplation while looking out to the horizon. Federico must be thinking about the future; about how he was to become a father in a few short months. Ezio realized everything was going to change with the arrival of his niece or nephew and then he realized something else. Would he and Contessina be expected to have children right away? The thought terrified Ezio to the core. He was too young for this, but at the same time he felt disappointed and robbed of something else.

"I think it is time we went home, Little Brother." Federico said standing up and dusting himself off. Ezio followed suit but stopped to look back at Cristina's home.

"You go ahead, there is something I have to do." Ezio said looking ahead.

"Ezio, it can wait until tomorrow. Cristina needs her sleep, si?" Federico's tone suggested that Ezio should go home and be with his family, but the younger brother looked back at him with a sad look.

"I have to do this tonight, or I will not be able to sleep." There was a sad truth to Ezio's words and Federico understood everything.

"Alright then, go make your peace with Cristina. Be sure to come home in one piece though." The older brother said with a small smile before watching the younger man go to the edge of the tower and leap off. "If only he knew." Federico said himself before going in the opposite direction.

Ezio wasted no time in going to Cristina's house. He stood there under her open window waiting for her to poke her head out as he threw small pebbles to catch her attention. She was blatantly ignoring him while he was trying not to be seen by her father. After a few minutes of throwing as many pebbles as he could, Cristina finally showed her beautiful face.

"Ezio! What do you want?" She hissed in annoyance.

"Can I come up?" He asked giving her a pathetic look.

"No! My father is home and if he catches us together, he will have you arrested." Cristina half yelled out, so her father did not hear. "Go home!"

"I need to talk to you. Tonight. Right now." Ezio was persistent and it paid off. She sighed and waved her hand for him to climb up.

"Just be quiet about it." Cristina walked away from the window as the young man climbed up without making a noise. When Ezio made it up into her bedroom she sat down at her vanity and continued to brush her long dark hair. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"That is not important right now." He did not know where to begin. To tell her this was the end of their relationship was almost the same as stabbing himself in the gut. "What is important is that we love each other." Not the best words to say in that moment, but he was trying. Ezio moved to stand behind her.

"Ezio?" She was questioning him through her reflection in the mirror as he put a hand on her neck and gently rubbed his thumb on her soft skin. She leaned into his touch before putting down her brush and standing.

Ezio turned her around to meet his troubled gaze. Never before had he felt so conflicted over what to do in a situation like this one. Here he was letting the woman he loved know that he had to let her go permanently and could never touch her again after. He did not hesitate any longer and crashed his lips against Cristina's in a lustful passion. She melted beneath him like ice on a hot day before he picked her up and moved her to the bed.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear.

Contessina moved through the streets as fast as she could back to the Palazzo Auditore. Her mother had kept her longer than she had anticipated, and Giuliano was insistent on her eating supper before she left. The Palazzo Medici was emptier than usual with just Ginevra and Giuliano there to keep themselves company, which was not bad at all. Lorenzo had taken his children and Clarice away for the week it seemed, but it was strange that they had decided to go on a whim. Bianca and her husband had reluctantly gone with Lorenzo after he threatened some sort of blackmail according to Giuliano.

She made it to the front doors of the Auditore household with a racing heart. Letting down her hood she sighed as she leaned up against the nearest wall to try and compose herself before going inside. In the folds of her dress was a letter addressed to Giovanni, but she was told to only give it to him if everything went according to plan. What the plan was; Contessina had no idea, but it was important that the letter remained sealed and in her possession. Giuliano mentioned that it was vital she does not speak a word of what she knew to anyone. Not even to Ezio.

Sighing, she pushed herself from the wall before going to the door and opening it. She did not see any of the Auditore children, nor Maria and Giovanni for that matter so she immediately made her way towards the stairs trying to go unnoticed. However, when she reached the top, she came face to face with Petruccio. She stood there looking at him for a moment seeing he had a box in his hands.

"What are you doing out of bed?" She questioned him with a slight glare.

"I wanted to show Father the box I found today, but I cannot find him." Petruccio held the box up to Contessina. She looked at the ornate carvings on the box that had been gilded with gold filigree.

"That is a pretty box, Petruccio." Contessina gave him a smile and then put a hand on his forehead. The boy looked pale, not more than usual, but enough to cause a slight concern. "You are a little warm."

"I feel fine." He pushed her hand away. "Contessina, if I tell you something can you keep it a secret?"

"Of course, I can." She said without hesitation.

"I want to make something, but I need your help." The boy grabbed her hand and led her to his room before shutting the door. "Promise you won't tell anyone else?"

"I promise." Contessina said as she went to sit on his bed. "Now, what do you need my help with?"

"Do you think you could spare a few pieces of fabric and sew for me?" He asked her as he put the box on the table by the door. She blinked not knowing what he was planning.

"Si, but what are you planning to make?" The blond woman moved over so Petruccio could get in his bed. "I may need to know so I can properly measure the fabric."

"I want to make a cape with feathers so I can fly." He said.

"Petruccio, if you want to fly like Icarus, I don't think it will work." She smiled at him before adding something else. "I don't think pigeon feathers will do."

"What feathers can make if fly?" He asked her as she began to tuck him in.

"Well, do you remember the tale of the Eagle?" Contessina watched the boy think for a moment before shaking his head. "I suppose I could tell it to you again." She climbed up to lay next to him. "It started with the Greeks. Long before Aeneous traveled to Rome and before the Trojan War, Zeus created the Eagle. You see, Petruccio, he needed a messenger. Hermes was able to carry messages to and from Olympus, but he was only one god. Zeus needed a messenger that could take on what Hermes could not, so he went to his brother in the Underworld. Hades, the Lord of the Dead and of all the riches in the Earth made a trade. Hades offered his brother a trade; gold feathers for a delicious fruit called a pomegranate. Now, Zeus being the reasonable god he was accepted the deal, but the only tree that grew the fruit was in Hera's garden."

"And Hera was a jealous goddess?" Petruccio asked.

"Si, she was very jealous. She did not like how Zeus went to other women behind her back, so when Zeus approached her for access to her garden, she told him no. Zeus being denied into his wife's garden set him on a path to mischief. He disguised himself as a fox while Hera slept and made his way to the pomegranate tree, but he did not know there was a wolf guarding the tree. Zeus knew that he had to be as silent as possible in order to get past the sleeping wolf, but just as he made it by, he stepped on a twig. The wolf woke up and started to growl at Zeus, but Zeus was a God. He revealed himself to the wolf and turned the beast into a pup for growling at him before plucking the pomegranate from the tree. He returned to Hades with the fruit, to which the Lord of the Dead held up his end of the bargain. Zeus now had golden feathers, however he needed something else. Eyes, but not just any eyes. Eyes as sharp as diamonds and as bright as the stars in the sky. Zeus went further into the Underworld to find the goddess Nyx. Perhaps she could give the King of the Heavens a pair of stars for his messenger." Contessina told Petruccio before she looked over to see that his eyes were drooping. "Zeus found Nyx sitting on a bolder crying because she had lost her favorite gemstone. Zeus comforted her and told her if he were to find her favorite gemstone, she had to give him two stars. She agreed and he set off to find her gemstone. Find it he did. It sat in the middle of the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. Zeus did not believe the river had any effect on the gods, but as soon as he stepped into its waters, he forgot what he had come there to do. He wondered around the Underworld for days before finally coming across the gemstone in the river again. When he finally remembered what it was that he had come to do, he stepped into the river again."

"Several more days passed before he came back to the Lethe river and this time, he turned himself into a hawk before swooping down and picking up the gem. When he returned to Nyx, Zeus had spent so much time in the Underworld that it was almost impossible for him to leave without Hades' permission, but Nyx granted him the reward he asked for. Two brightly glowing diamonds filled with starlight. With them, the eagle could see things no other man or god could. You see Petruccio, eagle feathers are blessed by the gods. No matter how heavy they are, their feathers can carry them, and they see everything." Contessina finished the story and saw that Petruccio had fallen asleep. She quietly got out of the bed and blew out the candle at his bedside before leaving his room.

"You were telling him a story again?" Federico's quiet voice said in the darkness of the hallway making her jump.

"You Auditore men and sneaking up on poor women like us." She almost wanted to push him down the stairs. "Yes, I was telling him a story. He was a little warm, but nothing out of the normal, so I made him go back to bed." She removed her cloak as she walked past the eldest Auditore sibling.

"That's good." Federico said before grabbing her arm. "Ezio may not be back tonight. He is taking care of something." She turned to look at Federico in the low light coming from the candles in the hall.

"He went to see Cristina again." There was disappointment in her voice. "I may be his wife, but I am not a ball and chain. Ezio can still do as he pleases, just like I can." She put a hand on Federico's and removed it from her arm. "I am going to bed now. Good night, Federico." There was a sour taste in her mouth and a jealous pang in her heart as she walked off to the bedroom that she and Ezio shared.

Closing the door when she got inside, she began to remove her dress feeling a little relief at the constraints. As soon as she stepped out of her dress, she noticed a spot of blood on her shift by her groin. Another round of courses to commemorate another month of marriage without a child. She was relieved because she did not want a child to be the reason for Ezio's affection. She wanted her freedom a little while longer.

Going to the table where the wash basin was, she grabbed a towel on the shelf below and began to clean herself. Being a woman was not as enjoyable as men made it out to be sometimes. The towel she pulled from between her thighs said this as it was covered in blood. Contessina had been dealing with these issues since she was eleven years of age and she could not imagine what younger girls went through when they were married off at that age. Most girls married younger than Contessina were married by proxy and then sent to live with their husbands years later. However, she had heard of some girls being sent earlier and even becoming with child soon after. The poor girls. Some of them died in childbirth and some lived only to lose their child. Some young mothers even lost the ability to be with child again. To imagine going through that herself was nerve wracking.

When she was done cleaning herself, she found a clean night dress in her dresser along with cotton strips to help with her 'courses'. If there was ever a curse that kept a husband from a wife's bed, this was it. Thankfully, Ezio was not uneducated in these matters. Most men stayed away from women who were 'unclean' because the Church said it was wicked and unholy to lay with a woman when she was unclean. Contessina never put much faith into the church, not when she understood that the process was essential to life. Call her unconventional, but it was what she believed.

Contessina made sure to put another log on the fire before getting into bed. To be honest, being in bed by herself did feel good at first, but she had gotten used to Ezio being there. He may not love her in the same way he did Cristina, but he did offer comfort when Contessina needed it. That was good enough for her and if she could learn to love him in that way, maybe she did stand a chance at happiness.


	5. The Last Day

**This chapter was not too bad to write. I know, there is a lot of introspective and dialogue, but….I'm trying to build some suspense and tension here! So take it as it comes. Conflict! Love it, hate it, but it makes for some good reading. **

Running from the guards was not Ezio's idea of a brisk morning walk home. If he had woken up sooner there would not have been any shouting or cursing, but he was not that lucky. There was no going back now. He sat in the cart full of flower petals waiting for the guards to move on. He thought about what happened before Cristina's father walked in; the conversation Ezio had been avoiding the entire night. The conversation did not go well.

Any chance of redemption was gone at this point. Cristina cursed Contessina's name and then cursed his before throwing his clothes at him and telling him to get out. Cristina was enraged, which he expected, but it did get the attention of her father. This was the reason he was avoiding the guards. Cristina's father threatened to have Ezio killed and it was not even noon.

Jumping out of the cart, Ezio brushed himself off before going in the direction of Palazzo Auditore. There was no sign of the guards that had chased him earlier, but he still had to be careful. There was another person he had to look out for, and he would not be as happy about this. That person happened to be standing at the front entrance to home with a very impatient and disappointed look on his face. Ezio winced as he spotted his father standing there waiting for him. The young man knew that he was late and if it had not been for his morning run from the authorities, he would have been on time.

Ezio swallowed and prepared himself for a verbal beating from Giovanni before walking over to the older man. The young man knew better than to pretend that his father did not see him. He crossed the small square knowing that Giovanni's eyes were on watching him the entire time and it was nerve wracking. Walking up to his stern father, Ezio found himself wanting to run away just a little, but unfortunately, he learned ever trick in the book from the man standing at the door. There was no escaping Giovanni Auditore.

"Good morning, Father." Ezio said not making eye contact with his father.

"Do you think me blind and deaf? I can only assume that you are because you did not listen to me. I know about your fight with Vieri de'Pazzi." Giovanni said and held up his hand when Ezio opened his mouth to speak. "I do not care if it was in defense of what he did to Contessina, you did not have to fight him. What is worse is that I also heard about your little visit to Cristina. I thought we had an understanding, son, but clearly I was wrong."

"No!" Ezio blurted out and then settled himself. "I only went to tell her the truth, but I did not expect to stay so long. She...is not a_ problem_ anymore." He stood up strait to own his actions.

"And what of Vieri? Is he a_ problem_ too? Or did the fight only make things worse for our family?" Giovanni asked his son and then sighed. "You are a lot like me, Ezio. There are days when I think I am seeing myself standing before me and I am reminded of days like this where my own father berated me in a similar manner." He put a hand on Ezio's shoulder and smiled. "I was a lot like you."

"Now I see why Mother loves you so much." The younger man chuckled before Giovanni put a serious look on his face.

"I hope your misadventures will not interfere with your work today." The older man said.

"No, Father." Despite Ezio's attitude, he did enjoy working for his father. Of course, someone had to make up for Federico's laziness. "It will not be a problem."

"Good. Come with me." Giovanni turned towards the door of his office with Ezio following him. Once inside, Ezio noticed letters stamped with wax seals in a stack and a leather bag beside them. "I need you to deliver a letter to Lorenzo de'Medici and return to me." Giovanni said picking up the folded parchment that rested on the very top of the stack.

"With haste, Father. I will be back in no time." Ezio said taking the letter and putting it in the inside pocket of his vest. "If you see Contessina, tell her I will be back."

"She left early this morning for a ride with Giuliano." Giovanni said.

"Oh. Then I will talk with her later." Ezio said before leaving his father's office.

The streets were busy again as people were preparing for the new year, which was only days away. Ezio moved through the streets effortlessly and without drawing any attention to himself. Palazzo Medici was not too far from home, but it was far enough to cause a slight bother when avoiding guards that were still looking for him. Luckily, those guards were busier with a small dispute between two gentlemen arguing over something insignificant. Ezio rolled his eyes at the pettiness of the argument. The two women that were present stood to the side wondering why it was such a big deal to begin with. Florentines could be so petty when it came to disputes, however Ezio supposed it was to be expected with the noblemen and women. Such things were trifles to him. The young man kept going; not really caring about how the dispute turned out.

The Palazzo was not much further ahead and despite its lackluster façade, it was one of the most recognizable buildings in Firenze. Cosimo de'Medici did not hold back when it came to improve the architecture of the city and Firenze flourished from his willingness to fund projects. The Palazzo Medici was still unfinished even though Lorenzo de'Medici had insisted on it being completed.

Coming to the front gate that led into the Palazzo he was surprised to see Contessina sitting atop a grey mare while Giuliano stood next to his red stallion making last minute checks to his tack. The red horse was antsy while the grey mare, which Ezio had seen Contessina ride on more than one occasion stood there calmly. The Auditore man strode up to the horses making eye contact with his wife before placing a hand on the mare's face.

"Father told me you were going riding this morning." He said checking the mare's bridle over.

"Giuliano thought it would be good for me to go for a ride outside the city today." Contessina answered back with a stoic look on her face and Ezio nodded. "Did you come to find me or did you come for something else."

"Father sent me to bring a letter to Messer Lorenzo, but I did not expect you to still be here." Ezio told her as Giuliano stepped over.

"That is unfortunate. Lorenzo left for Villa Careggi yesterday." The Medici man said putting a hand on the Auditore's shoulder. "He left us boring Medici here to tend to the bank."

"I would not call you boring Giuliano." Ezio said with a small laugh.

"Fair point. My mother says I can be entertaining." Giuliano said going back to his horse and climbing into the saddle. "I would say to leave the letter with Rufino, but I think it best to bring it back to Giovanni." Giuliano leaned on the pommel of his saddle. Contessina stayed quiet during the entire conversation so she could absorb all the information. "We should go. Daylight is wasting and I promise to have your wife back to you by the afternoon." The blond man smiled.

"Take your time." Ezio looked up at her and smiled. "We have the rest of our lives to figure everything else out." He rubbed the mare on the forehead before moving out of the way. "Be careful, Contessina."

"I will be." She replied as she kicked the mare forward. Before Giuliano left, he moved his horse up closer to the younger man and leaned down.

"I know that Cristina is no longer a threat to Contessina, so you better work hard to make my cousin happy or you will have me to deal with." The Medici said in warning before sitting up. "That is a promise." He said before kicking his stallion forward to meet up with Contessina.

Giuliano was no pushover in a fight, and he could certainly hold his own on the battlefield while Ezio only knew the basics of sword fighting. He knew that he would not last against a skilled swordsman like Giuliano de'Medici who lived and breathed sword fighting and jousting since he was a small boy. Giuliano's skill was only outmatched by his brother, Lorenzo, who was skilled in more than just sword fighting. The young Auditore watched as Contessina rode away with Giuliano close beside her. Those two had a strong relationship, but where Ezio and Contessina were close before, they were further apart than ever.

"You should give him another chance." Giuliano said as he casually rode beside Contessina. "I think he does want to try."

"Giuliano, Ezio is not to blame for our situation. He knows that and you know that." She said as they rode from the gates of Firenze. "It is better this way."

"You stay out of the way so he and the Vespucci girl can be happy?" Giuliano seemed to be understanding of her feelings but shrugged. "Contessina, when are you going to stop worrying about other people and focus on what you want?"

"My happiness doesn't matter, only my duty to my family." She said looking ahead at the beautiful Tuscan country before her. Soft rolling hills of wheat and vineyards dotted the landscape.

"Duty does not make one happy, Cousin. It makes one very lonely." Giuliano said before kicking his stallion forward into a slow gallop.

The blond woman did not hesitate to push the grey mare she rode to follow Giuliano. Clarice was not much into riding, but Lorenzo gifted her the mare as a present for the birth of their daughter years ago. Ever since, the grey mare had been the horse that the children rode, being that she was calm and protective over the little ones. Clarice had named the mare Serafina for her almost white coat and how it reminded everyone of an angel. When asked, Serafina could go stride for stride with Giuliano's stallion and even Lorenzo's gelding, but she was not in shape to go for a long run.

Giuliano had stopped at the top of the hill and turned around to look on Contessina as she slowed down to a trot. The feeling of the wind blowing through her blond hair made her feel free and as if nothing had changed for her. Now, Contessina forgot about her marriage and about the relationship between Ezio and Cristina. There was nothing that could compare to being on the back of a horse and galloping across the Tuscan countryside on a sunny day.

"That old mare is getting slower. Perhaps it is time to get a good colt out of her." The blond man said with a broad smile on his face.

"Perhaps. I know just the stallion to cover her." She gave Giuliano false hope that it would be his stallion. "Not that retched thing you ride though. Any colt he produces would be a terror." She did not like the red horse at all.

"Poor Grezzo can never get a_ belladonna_." Giuliano patted his horses' neck in sympathy. "Ah well, who could resist a charming stud like him anyway." He turned his horse to move down the road. "I thought we should visit Ottavio's vineyard. He promised me a tasting of his wine and I'm sure Antonella will have lunch for us."

"I have not seen them since the end of Lent. I heard Antonella was with child." Contessina said riding beside him at a leisurely pace.

"She had a boy in October. I believe they named him Ottelo, but I cannot be sure. I am not good with names, remember?" He waved a hand in front of his face to swat at a fly. "We are going to have a hot summer."

"This doesn't surprise me." She said as they moved towards the vineyard up ahead.

Ezio was surprised to see Uberto Alberti standing in Giovanni's office. The Gonfalonier was an occasional visitor to the Palazzo Auditore seeing as he and Giovanni were good friends. Before Ezio had entered the room, he had caught part of the conversation the two men were having about Francesco de'Pazzi being in prison. This was not news to Ezio. The Pazzi man had been imprisoned over a week ago and this was the reason Vieri had been causing so much trouble for the Auditore.

"Ezio, you remember my friend Uberto?" Giovanni said as the young man came up and bowed in respect to the Gonfalonier.

"Good morning, Gonfalonier." Ezio remembered his manners that time, and the older man dipped his head in greeting.

"Morning? It is almost noon." Uberto chuckled and looked to Giovanni. Ezio felt a little sheepish there in forgetting the time.

"Right. My mistake." He gave Uberto and Giovanni an embarrassed smile.

"It is good to see you, Ezio." The Gonfalonier said with a broad grin.

"I trust you delivered my letter to Lorenzo?" Giovanni asked getting back to business.

"Sorry, Father, but Messer Lorenzo is out of town." The young Auditore said. "Giuliano was there, but he said it would be better if the letter remained with you."

"So, it seems. Alright, then I suppose we will have to figure something else out." Giovanni said to Uberto before turning his attention back to Ezio. "I take it Contessina was there as well?"

"Si, Father. I told her we could talk when she returned from riding." Ezio answered him and Uberto took the time to interject.

"I take it you and your beautiful wife are doing well?" The older man asked.

"As well as we can be, Messer Uberto. She is still adjusting I think." Ezio replied. "After what happened yesterday, a good ride through Toscana will do some good."

"Indeed. I was upset to hear about what Vieri de'Pazzi did. It was shameful and should never happened to Signora Contessina." Uberto smiled in polite comfort. "I hope he pays for his transgressions."

"As do we all." Giovanni answered. "Ezio, your mother and sister were looking for you earlier, see what you can do to help them, and I will see you in a little while." He said turning his attention to his son.

"Si, Father." The son said before leaving the room. The first person Ezio saw when coming from the office was Claudia. She was sitting on the bench near the entrance looking downtrodden with a few tears streaming down her face. If he had to guess, Ezio was sure it had something to do with that idiot Duccio. He did not hate Duccio, but he surely did not like the pig either. "Claudia? Why are you crying?" Ezio went to sit next to his little sister and she looked up at him with red eyes.

"It's Duccio." She sniffed. "He's been unfaithful to me." Only yesterday he remembered Claudia talking about how wonderful the idiot man was and now he seemed to be playing the rooster in the henhouse in Firenze.

"How do you know, Claudia?" It was a simple question that Ezio already knew the answer to. Claudia was just a young girl and equally so her experience with the other sex was near to non-existent. She was naïve to the way men toyed with women.

"Maddalena come over this morning in a panic telling me that she saw Duccio with Letizia by the Duomo. She said they were holding hands and...I don't even want to say what else." She put a hand over her mouth to stop the sobs from coming. Ezio could not help but to pull his poor heartbroken sister into his arms. "We were supposed to be married in the spring." She cried and Ezio rubbed her back.

"Claudia, you should not listen to your friends like that without seeing it for yourself." He said pulling away from her. "I will go talk to Duccio and find out what is really going on." Ezio stood up and left with the intention of discovering the truth.

Luckily for Ezio, the pig named Duccio was still by the Duomo and sure enough, he was with Letizia. He had just proposed to the plump woman who was a couple years older than Claudia. Ezio took matters into his own hands with this situation only for Duccio to cower away after a good hit to the jaw and stomach. The young man never liked the pig and certainly did not like the match between a pig and Claudia. At least now, Ezio's sweet, innocent, and naïve sister was free to find a man worthy of her affection.

Rushing back home, Ezio found himself standing behind his mother as she tended to her roses. Maria Auditore had a love for things that grew. The trellises around the entire courtyard were covered in beautiful flowering vines and while it was too cold in other parts of the world for roses this time of year, in Italy the climate was perfect.

"Your roses are beautiful, Mother." He said catching her attention.

"If you are trying to get on my good side over what happened last night with Cristina, you are not doing a good job of it." She said not turning to face him. Ezio rolled his eyes. "You can stop rolling your eyes so hard, my son. They may fall out of your head."

"How did you know I was rolling my eyes?" He asked her.

"When you have children of your own, you will learn to have eyes on the back of your head." She turned around and smiled. "Especially if you have a son that acts just like you." The thought terrified Ezio and he cleared his throat.

"Father said you were looking for me?" Ezio said brushing the whole conversation aside as she stepped closer to him.

"Yes, I have to run an errand. Will you accompany me?" Maria said walking past Ezio to the gates of the palazzo. Ezio never turned down a chance to spend some time with his mother.

Contessina sat cradling the three-month-old baby boy in her arms as she sat on the patio of Ottavio's home. Antonella sat next to her as she poured white wine into the glass beside her. Contessina looked down at the infant sleeping in her arms wondering if she would be lucky enough to have a child of her own one day. Ottelo's sweet little face spoke of true content as his mother looked on at the scene before her.

"You are a natural with him." Antonella said before putting a square of cheese in her mouth and chewing it. "Have you and your husband thought about having a little one?"

"No. I do not think we are ready for that." Contessina answered with a sad smile. "The friendship I had with Ezio before we were married has changed, but not for the better." The baby in her arms squirmed a bit and she began to rock him a little to settle his discomfort.

"I see." The brunette woman said plucking a grape from the tray. "When Ottavio and I married, we were complete strangers." She said motioning to where Ottavio and Giuliano were examining the grape that were growing on the vine across the way. "Our wedding night was awkward. Ottavio is ten years older and I was a virgin, but he had not been interested in women before I was promised to him. Do not get me wrong, he loved women, but he just did not have an interest in bedroom activities. I am sure you know he is a very pious man." She put a hand on Contessina's arm to help her understand. "I did not know what to do and apparently he did not either." She giggled. "We grew to be friends and then eventually we enjoyed each other's company so much that sex was enjoyable." Contessina almost wanted to run away from the conversation, but she smiled anyway.

"That is not our problem though, Antonella. We have distractions, mostly Ezio, but I cannot make him let go of those distractions." She confessed and Antonella put a hand on her arm.

"Then you must become the distraction." If only it were that simple. Contessina sighed. It was time to go back to Firenze. "Contessina, Ottavio and I care very much about you and we miss the bright smiling girl that we adore. I know about Ezio Auditore, he was and still is a boy who doesn't know what he wants in life yet. I know he continues his relationship with the Vespucci girl while still being married to you. It is sinful and it shames you." The conversation was taking a turn that Contessina did not like. "You will not be happy until Ezio is yours and only yours."

Contessina's eyes widened at the audacity of Antonella's words. The Medici girl never thought of Ezio as 'hers' to begin with. They may be married, but she was not holding to the bond and having another woman telling her the most inappropriate things was beyond infuriating. The blond looked away from the other woman and put her attention on where Giuliano was standing. He noticed her uncomfortable posture along with the panicked look on her face.

"Contessina?" She felt Antonella's hand move down to hers. "I am sorry if I upset you. I am not saying these things to hurt you, but to help you." There was a sincere tone in the older woman's voice and Contessina almost believed it. She turned to look Antonella with a stern glint in her blue eyes.

"Do not take this the wrong way, Antonella, but the best help you can give me is to not speak of my marriage. Ezio is a good man. He is not out to control me like your husband does to you, so please do not compare my marriage to yours." Contessina said with strong tone. On the outside she was fine, yet on the inside she was ready to run away at the first sign of retort from Antonella. She was careful not to wake the baby in her arms when she stood up and handed him to his mother. "It is not your place to figure out where my husband and I stand with each other." She said as she stood straight.

"Contessina, I am sorry. I did not mean to intrude in your affairs. We are all worried about you." Antonella grabbed the blond girl's arm to stop her. "Your mother especially worries that she made a mistake in marrying you to the Auditore boy." The Auditore boy? "He is reckless, and everyone knows it." Reckless? Is that what the Medici supporters thought of this whole affair? Contessina could not believe it in the slightest.

"Antonella, how do you know such things?" Contessina was frustrated and sat back down in the chair. "What do the Medici supporters think of the Auditore?"

"Not much. Giovanni is a respectable man, but he does strange things. Going out at odd hours of the night only to be gone for days at a time. It was said that the last time he went out of Firenze, the Duke of Milan was murdered." Contessina did not understand how the two things were linked or how they could be linked. "What banker goes away for days at a time?" Antonella asked rhetorically.

"What else?" Contessina wanted to know the truth.

"People talk about how the two oldest boys run across the rooftops as though they own the city itself." The older woman said picking up another grape. "The Auditore are strange, Contessina. They do not belong in Firenze and should have never set foot here to begin with. They do not go to church, so they are godless heretics and I do not know why the Medici keep them employed." Now what Antonella said was interesting and caught Contessina's attention. As far as she knew, Ottavio and Antonella were supporters of the Medici, but if she remembered right, Antonella's mother was a cousin to the Pazzi. Now it all made sense.

"I see." Contessina said with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"There is talk that the Auditore are on their way out of Firenze as it is thanks to evidence that Francesco de'Pazzi is innocent of the charges brought against him." Then it made sense. The robes that Giovanni wore and the secrecy. "Perhaps you will be a free woman soon." Antonella said with a caring smile.

"Giuliano!" Contessina bolted out of her chair and walked to Giuliano and Ottavio. "We have to go back to Firenze"

"Whatever for?" The blond man asked in confusion before Contessina turned to Ottavio.

"Tell me the truth Messer Ottavio, does your wife keep in contact with her cousins the Pazzi's?" She asked the older man and he was taken aback.

"No, she assured me she does not speak with them. We are allies with your family Contessina and will continue to be." He looked confused as to why she was asking. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry Messer Ottavio, but I do not think I can trust your wife any longer." Contessina said walking away to where Serafina stood tied.

"I'm sorry Ottavio, but it looks like we will have to go over the process of fermentation some other time." Giuliano said patting the shoulder of the older man. "We had a lovely time visiting!" The Medici man said walking away in a haste to catch up with Contessina. "Alright, you have to tell me what on God's Earth has gotten into you." Giuliano said grabbing the girl's arm and stopping her from mounting the grey mare.

"Antonella has been keeping contact with the Pazzi. I don't know what they have said to her or what she truly knows, but there is something going. She said the Auditore are 'on their way out' of Firenze. Giuliano, I think Ezio's family is in danger. My family." She said understanding that she was an Auditore now too. "I have to get back."

"Alright then. Let's go." Giuliano did not think twice before going to his horse and swinging up into the saddle. It was already well passed noon and closer to midafternoon, she only hoped that her family was safe.


	6. Split Apart

**Hello all! First off; thank you for the review, SrenzoJIG! It was very much appreciated :)**

**I do try to stay with the cannon plot, but sometimes you do have to change a few minor things. One of those things is…well you will see. It is fanfiction after all. Also, I have other historical fictions I am currently writing so History itself is my playground. **

**Enjoy! And thank you for reading! **

Contessina rode with haste into Florence and straight to Palazzo Auditore. People were struggling to get out of her way as she trotted through the streets on Serafina with Giuliano right behind her. When she saw the gates of the Palazzo, she was relieved to see Federico standing outside of them talking to Petruccio about sneaking out of bed again. She sighed as she rode closer and looked to Giuliano behind her.

"All this panic over nothing." He said making his horse stop next to hers and she looked at him with a sad face.

"Giuliano, I have this terrible feeling that something bad will happen." Contessina said quietly as she watched Federico pull his little brother inside. There was something wrong. A dark cloud was hanging over the Palazzo Auditore that only she could see, and she did not know how to warn the family she had come to love.

"If anything does happen, the Pazzi would not dare threaten you. You are still a Medici, Contessina. If you were to come under threat again, Lorenzo would declare open war against the Pazzi. Not to mention they would also have to go through me." The blond man said pointing at himself. "Don't worry, I'm sure Antonella was only spouting idle gossip."

"She was very specific, Giuliano." She turned to look at him and then back to her home. "She knew the Pazzi's plans."

"I think you are making mountains out of ant hills again, Cousin. Come on, I'll take Serafina home." He said dismounting his horse so he could help Contessina down from hers. "Like I said, nothing to worry about."

"That is the problem, you do not worry about anything." She said when he placed his hands on her waist to help her dismount with all her skirts tangled.

"And you worry too much." He smiled before rubbing her head which messed up her tangled hair even more. "Go home and relax. I'm sure you and Ezio have a lot to talk about." He said winking at her.

"You are the worst, Giuliano." Contessina said handing him Serafina's reins with a blush across her cheeks.

"Yet, you still come to me when you have a problem that needs to be solved." He grinned and mounted his horse again. "Don't worry Contessina. Everything will be alright." Giuliano gave her a hopeful look, but his eyes said something different. "Tell Cammillia that I miss her sass." He said turning his red stallion away and leading the exhausted grey mare away.

Contessina turned her attention back to her home with the Auditore family. The nagging feeling in the back of her mind did not want to go away while her thoughts were telling her to warn the family she had come to love over the years. She stood there in debate with herself over what Antonella had told her. Was it all true? Was there a connection between Giovanni and the assassination of the Duke of Milan? These thoughts were something she needed to consider. Then there was the way Antonella spoke about the Auditore; she was degrading them.

Sighing, the blond woman walked to the palazzo and sat down on a bench in the courtyard to think. Thankfully, no one was around to see her just yet, but the puzzle she faced had many pieces she needed to fit together. The first piece was the easiest one to think about and that involved the conversation with Giovanni the day before. Everything Antonella said about Giovanni was true; that much Contessina knew. She did not confirm or deny anything to Antonella, but her reaction to it looked genuine. Contessina was no fool. She knew Antonella was baiting her so that the seeds of doubt were planted, but Contessina was smarter.

What had made everything clear was the mention of Francesco de Pazzi and his 'innocence' in the plot to assassinate the Duke of Milan. How would the wife of a vineyard owner know about such things if she was not informed by the Pazzi family? That was where it all came together for Contessina. She knew Giovanni had returned home early that morning when the news of the Duke's murder had broken out through Florence. She was there when Lorenzo became furious over the matter and blamed the Pazzi. She also remembered the look on Giovanni's face when they ate dinner that night. The look that someone would have if they had lost a friend or failed a mission.

Yes, Contessina knew that Giovanni had been in Milan at the time of the Duke's murder at Mass on Christmas Day. Did he kill the Duke? No. She knew he did not because if so, that would mean Lorenzo ordered it. Contessina knew that it was impossible for Lorenzo to cut ties with Sforza as he was an ally of sorts until Imola was bought by the Pope via a loan from the Pazzi family. However, the Duke and Lorenzo kept their friendship. The Pazzi were behind it for sure, and Francesco de'Pazzi was the one who ordered the death of the Duke.

Contessina had the pieces fitting together now but it was too late. The sound of armor clanking together as guards walked into the courtyard in formation with Alfonso Renaldi at the front. The man she had known for a long time had his hand on the hilt of his sword as he motioned for one of the guards to knock on the door. Contessina stood up quickly and walked over to Alfonso to buy the Auditore some time.

"Captain Alfonso? What are you doing here?" She asked him with a smile on her face, hoping to distract him from the task at hand. His dark eyes shifted to her in acknowledgement, but he continued to face the door.

"Signora Contessina, I am afraid I am here on official business for the Gonfalonier." He said seriously. "Is Giovanni Auditore home?"

"I am not sure. I only just returned from riding with my cousin." The blond woman said doing her best to remain innocent and unaware of what was really going on. "Captain, is there anything I can help you with?" She said stepping in front of him, but he nodded to the guard next to him.

"Restrain her." Alfonso said and Contessina looked at him in confusion as the guard forcefully grabbed her arm in a vice like grip. It was only seconds after that when Annetta opened the door.

"Annetta! Don't let them in!" Contessina yelled out before the guard holding her clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What is the meaning of this?" The maid asked.

"Where is Giovanni Auditore?" The captain asked pushing his way inside followed by his men.

"Captain Alfonso? What can I do for you?" Giovanni came from the dining room with a welcoming look on his face.

"You are under arrest along with Federico Auditore, Ezio Auditore, and Petruccio Auditore." Alfonso said waving to his men to restrain Giovanni as Maria came into the room with Federico close behind her.

"On who's orders, Alfonso?" Giovanni said as the guards took hold of him.

"On the orders of the Gonfalonier, Messere Auditore." Contessina could see the look on Giovanni's face go from angry to hurt. Uberto Alberti betrayed him. "Restrain the boy over there and find the other two."

"No! You cannot take them!" Maria shouted standing in the way of the men that wanted to take her son away from her. "Stop this!" She pleaded with the Captain. Contessina struggled to get away herself, but it only escalated when she heard Cammillia running down the stairs at the commotion going on.

"What are you doing? He is my husband!" The auburn-haired woman's voice was full of panic and anger. Contessina could not see the other woman from where she was held, and she worried for her friend. She worried for Maria and Claudia. "Let him go!" Cammellia's voice choked up but she was still trying to defend Federico.

"Gag the women if you have to but shut them up!" Alfonso's voice commanded. Contessina closed her eyes willing for all the fighting to stop, but it became worse as Petruccio's screams were heard. She could hear him being dragged down the stairs with Claudia fighting to pull the guard holding the youngest child off him. Tears started pooling in Contessina's eyes as she realized Petruccio was too weak to fight them off. She had to give them time. "Bring them outside." Alfonso said appearing from the inside of the house.

"We cannot find the other boy." One of the men came forward and Alfonso stopped to look at Contessina.

"Where is he?" The captain nodded his head to the guard holding Contessina and the hand over her mouth moved so she could speak.

"I don't know." She said through her tears. "Like I said, I only just returned from riding with Giuliano." She emphasized her cousins name hoping that Alfonso would have a little mercy on her and the family now in the clutches of his men.

"Take them to the Piazza Del Signoria and keep on a lookout for the other boy. He will return home eventually." The cold-hearted captain said to his men.

The scene before Contessina was one of heartbreak. Maria began to wail as Giovanni was struggling to get out of the guards grasp and Contessina knew that he would kill them to make sure nothing else happened, but what good would it do? Giovanni would be guilty for sure. Contessina did the only thing she could think of as Cammillia held on to Federico when they dragged him away.

"Alfonso!" Everything stopped when she yelled out his name. Everyone in the courtyard looked to her and she felt as though time stopped for a moment. She was about to do something that only a Medici would do. "How many years did you serve my family before Lorenzo suggested you for this position?"

"Signora, this has nothing to do with your family." The captain said but she gave him a hard look.

"It has everything to do with the Medici!" She yelled out. "My family gave you everything. A career, a stable income, and the position you had coveted for so many years." Contessina glared at the guard holding her and pulled herself out of his grip to stand in between Alfonso and the Auditore. "I can easily make your life worse than this."

"I am under orders from..." He did not get to finish.

"I do not care; the Medici gave you what you have now." The blond woman was determined to see the Auditore at least treated with some dignity. She could not get them out of this, but she could save them the pain of separation from the people they loved. "If the Auditore agree to go with you peacefully, will you allow them to say goodbye to their loved ones?" She proposed a deal invoking the pride and wit of the Medici. Alfonse sighed knowing he had lost this battle with the stubborn blond woman he knew as Contessina Giulia de'Medici.

"Peacefully and willingly." Alfonso said looking at Giovanni in the eyes. "You have three minutes." Then he looked back at Contessina. "This is the last favor I will do for you, Signora Auditore. You are not a Medici anymore." Alfonso said with a deadly glare. It was clear she had no more power in Firenze anymore. "Let them go and watch the gate in case one of them tries to escape."

"They will not escape." Contessina said looking at Giovanni who nodded as he was freed. She walked over to him and Maria. "What do you need me to do?" She looked up at her father-in-law begging him to tell her what to do.

"Ezio is still delivering messages to my allies in Firenze. Make sure he comes to see me at the Signoria." He put his hands on Contessina's face. "I fear this is the last time we will talk, but you have been a gift to our family ever since you were a child. If Uberto has betrayed us, you must see to it that Ezio does not get caught." He said before kissing her on the forehead. "Take care, Contessina de'Medici." He let her go to say goodbye to Maria. The way Giovanni spoke to her and what he said made her realize that he was not planning on reuniting with his family again.

Looking over to Federico and Cammillia, she saw him putting a hand on his wife's abdomen. She was with child. Contessina had her suspicions, but this confirmation that things were only going to get harder. Her only choice now was to go on hoping that the men were released and charges against them cleared. The young woman saw poor Petruccio hobbling up to his parents with Claudia right behind him to embrace them tightly in a hug. Contessina depressed by this. Why did they have to take Petruccio of all people? He was just a boy; a child who suffered already with a sickness. It was not fair.

"Time to go." Alfonso's voice echoed through the yard as the guards took hold of the Auditore men one more time. "Do not resist or we will drag you out by force." Maria's whimpering grew as she held on to Giovanni and Petruccio, but the patriarch did as he promised and was led away without a fight.

"Remember Zeus' Eagle, Petruccio!" Contessina said aloud as the young boy started to resist. She went up to him and knelt to comfort the boy who had tears rolling down his pale cheeks. The guards came up to her to take her away from him, but she gave Alfonso a look and he told them to stand down. "Remember how when Zeus finally created the eagle, Hermes became jealous and trapped the bird in a cage?" The boy nodded. "How did he escape?" She asked him with a smile.

"By teaching Hermes how to be patient." Petruccio answered her and she nodded with a sniff.

"Be patient and this will all be over sooner than you think." She said hoping to give him some comfort in the darkness ahead. "Go with them and teach them how to be patient." Contessina gave him a kiss on the cheek. She stood up and watched as the boy slowly walked with the guard who gently held his arm before embracing Claudia.

"Please tell me this is all a horrible nightmare." The younger girl said crying into the blond's shoulder as Cammillia sunk down onto the floor of the courtyard in tears. Maria had gone completely silent while Annetta stood beside her holding on to the older woman. All that was left to do was to wait for Ezio.

"Help me get everyone inside, Claudia. We will figure out what to do next." Contessina said pulling away from Claudia's grip on her. "Annetta, take Maria and Claudia inside please. I will talk with Cammillia."

"Si, Signora." The young maid said nodding her head as the blond moved to where her friend sat on the ground crying.

"What will happen to him?" The auburn-haired woman looked up at Contessina with irritated red eyes. Contessina did not know the real answer to her question, however there was the chance that the Auditore men could be free the next day. It all rested on Ezio's shoulders and Contessina had to do her part.

"I do not know the charges, so I cannot answer that." She said holding out a hand to the woman on the ground. "Let's hope Ezio returns soon."

"Out of the way!" Giuliano's voice was over the sound of galloping hooves. He rode directly into the courtyard only ducking when he entered the gate. "Are you alright?" The blond man asked her and Cammillia both as the older woman rose to her feet.

"Physically, yes. Emotionally? Not so much." Contessina answered him and he looked down at her with apologetic eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I am riding to Careggi to fetch Lorenzo. Uberto Alberti has betrayed us and Giovanni will be executed in the morning at the Piazza de la Signoria." Giuliano said as his horse danced around. He was atop a feisty grey that she had seen Lorenzo ride before.

"You will not make it there in time!" Cammillia said grabbing on to Contessina's sleeve.

"I have to try. He needs to know and I'm the fastest rider in Firenze." He turned to leave but Contessina grabbed onto the horses' bridle.

"What of Federico and Petruccio? Are they to be executed as well?" Contessina asked.

"I do not know. I only know of Giovanni's execution. Where is Ezio?" That was the one question everyone was asking and there was no answer.

"He has not returned yet." Cammillia answered. The horse was growing impatient along with its rider.

"Do not stay here tonight. Go to the Palazzo Medici and stay there." Giuliano said before turning the horse away and trotting out of the gates. Contessina knew that her cousin would not make it to Villa Careggi in time as it was a two-day ride at a good pace. The important thing was that Lorenzo needed to return to Florence at once to stop the events that were set in motion.

The two women looked at each other before the auburn-haired woman grabbed on to Contessina. She held the younger girl tight as they walked into the house where Claudia was sitting next to Maria whispering to the poor woman. Contessina did not know what to say when the older woman stared off in the distance without saying a word. Obviously, the matriarch was in shock from the whole ordeal of having two of her children and her husband taken to prison.

"What do we do now?" Claudia asked standing up and walking to Contessina and Cammillia. "There has to be some mistake. It has to be a misunderstanding." The young girl said clasping her hands together and rubbing them in anxiety. Contessina pulled away from Cammillia and grabbed Claudia by the shoulder to calm her down.

"Claudia, you must calm down. Getting upset will not help your father or brothers. We have to think about what we have to do to protect ourselves and act on it." The blond woman said calmly, and the younger girl nodded. "We will wait for Ezio and while we are waiting, Cammillia and I will see about getting provisions together. It is obvious we cannot stay here tonight." Contessina looked up at Maria and then back to Claudia. "Go to your room and pack something to wear for the next few days and get Annetta to pack for Maria."

"Where are we going to go, Contessina? No one will take us in now." Claudia said knowing that news of Giovanni's arrest had spread through Firenze like wildfire. Contessina knew it for sure the moment Giuliano rushed out of the city on horseback to find Lorenzo. It was all a mess now and bringing the Auditore women to the Palazzo Medici would not be a good idea because that was the first place the guards would search for Ezio. "Contessina?"

"I don't know, that will have to be something Ezio must decide." She put a hand on Claudia's cheek. "Until he gets here, you must do as I say. Do you understand?" The younger girl nodded before leaving her to pack something.

"Why can't they come with us to the Medici?" Cammillia asked the blond. "They would be safe with us."

"It is because of Ezio." Contessina turned to her friend. "Cammillia, Ezio must not be caught. I can guarantee that Palazzo Medici will be watched closely by Uberto tonight." The auburn-haired woman quickly understood what Contessina was telling her and nodded. "Come, we need to gather our things." She told Cammillia.

Once up in her room, Contessina moved through her drawers to recover the letter that Giuliano had given her the night before. She had hidden it in the very back of the drawer where she kept her most valuable objects like the jewelry her mother gave her on her wedding day. She sifted through the box that had some of the letters she kept over the years to find the one she needed before stuffing it in the bust of her corset.

"Ezio!" She heard Claudia yell out and she sighed in relief before moving to the bed where her bag sat. Taking the satchel, she hoisted it over her shoulder and grabbed her cloak off the chair in the corner of the room by the door. Moving down the stairs and into the room where the rest of the family were, she caught sight of her husband. He was unharmed, but clearly had no idea what had happened.

"Contessina?" Ezio asked her as she dropped her satchel on the floor to put her cloak on. "Where is my father and brothers?"

"Alfonso came with the guards and took them to the Piazza de la Signoria. I was able to ensure that they were treated fairly, but beyond that there was nothing I could do. Giuliano rides for Villa Careggi as we speak to retrieve Lorenzo, but I am afraid it will be too late once my cousins arrive." She said fiddling with the clasp on her navy cloak. Ezio's eyes went from confused to aware all in the matter of a second when he realized that his family was in grave danger.

"What aren't you telling me Contessina?" He asked her. She turned to Cammillia who stood there with her cloak on as well and a satchel.

"Go to Palazzo Medici and tell my mother to have our rooms ready. We will meet you there later." Contessina said walking up to Cammillia calmly and placing a hand on the older woman's arm in comfort. "Get some rest and take care of yourself." She nodded to the auburn-haired woman with a smile. "Silvia? Could you make sure she gets to Palazzo Medici?" She said turning to the other maid in the room.

"Si, Signora. Should I take your bag too?" The thin woman asked.

"Please. I will be going with my husband." Contessina turned to Ezio to see the surprised look on his face. She was no doubt going to be explaining everything to him on the way to the Signoria. However, she was prepared for this.

"Contessina, wait a moment. What are you doing?" He asked her trying to figure out what she was trying to do. "You should go with Cammillia to your family."

"You are my family too, Ezio. Your parents and your siblings are also my family. I am doing what I must do." Contessina gave him a smile and he sighed knowing that she could be stubborn.

"Alright." He ran a hand through his hair and turned to Annetta. "Do you know of a safe place my Claudia and my Mother can stay?"

"Si, my sister's house. Just north of the Duomo." The woman said with a little enthusiasm. "They will be safe with her, I promise Ser Ezio."

"Alright, I am trusting you to take care of them Annetta. I will meet you back here in the morning." For the first time in his life, Ezio felt like he had no control over anything. When he looked at how calm Contessina was, he felt that she was holding it together for him. The blond girl that he had known since they were children had always been calm in the middle of a storm and she was an anchor or a rock. It had been a while since he had seen this Contessina and he was thankful to see her as she was again. "I am going to speak with my father."

"Good. I will go with you." Contessina said walking up to Ezio and putting her hood up. "Someone will have to keep an eye out for guards while you climb all the way up the tower." She smiled at him hoping to give him courage and hope of all things. She did not hesitate to grab his arm and pull him out of the door with her.

"I don't understand. How did all of this happen?" Ezio said aloud as the two walked through the dark streets side by side at a brisk pace.

"I want to explain everything to you, but I think it best your father explains it. I am still trying to understand everything myself." She told him as they rounded a corner cautiously looking for guards. Ezio went ahead first before motioning for her to follow him. The rooftops may have been the faster route at this time, but there were archers posted at every corner and they were on the lookout for him.

"You were always the smart one." He told her with a bit of jealousy in his voice. Contessina shook her head.

"Ezio, you give yourself little credit. You are smarter than I am, more brash and foolish, but still smarter. Your father has his secrets and he kept them well hidden from you and your siblings. Don't tell me you did not question why he disappeared at odd hours of the night. I know you." She said grabbing his arm and making him stop to listen to her. "I know your curiosity gets the better of you and I saw you watching your parents that night. You knew Giovanni was hiding something and you kept quiet about it too." Her eyes searched his for a moment. She knew he was going over every detail in his head at that moment.

"A banker does not go across the country at night." Ezio said to himself realizing Contessina was right. He clenched his jaw thinking about all the times his father would disappear for days a time and the things his father taught him. Running on rooftops was only the start. "Come on." He grabbed Contessina's hand and pulled her along. She was a fair bit shorter than Ezio and his strides had her trotting to keep up with him.

Contessina was out of breath when she and Ezio reached the Piazza del la Signoria. Looking around there was barely anyone in the square, but the scaffold stood ominously in the center waiting for its next victims. She looked at Ezio in concern as he saw the wooden platform in the center as well. It seemed to stare at the both of them. Ropes hung down the large beam and swayed slightly with the brisk wind that flowed through Firenze. Contessina had never felt so chilled to the bone or felt like something was constricting her.

Ezio pulled her along again to the other side of the Piazza where no one would see him climb up. Letting go of her hand he leaned against the wall of the building next to the Vecchio and began to search for a way up with his eyes. She could see his amber brown eyes scanning the building in the moonlight, but he stopped for a moment to look at her before grabbing her quickly and pulling her to him. The sound of clanking armor grew closer as four soldiers came around the corner. Contessina did not react fast enough, but Ezio did; bringing his lips down to her neck to make it look like they were passionate lovers in an embrace.

"I don't understand why they do that on the streets out in the open." One of the armored men commented as he walked by.

"It's just another married man skipping out on his wife with a whore." Another said. "It's not our job to handle domestic affairs."

The blond woman gasped slightly when Ezio's lips hit a very tender spot on her neck that sent ripples through her body and she grasped at the cloth covering his arms. Luckily, he stopped right there as the soldiers rounded another corner out of sight. She blushed when he looked down at her before making sure the way was clear. This was his chance.

"Stay here and keep out of sight. If you see anyone whistle." The young man told her. "I will be back." He made to leave her, but she grabbed his arm.

"Be careful and don't get caught." She said making eye contact with him.

"I won't." He said as she let him go.

Contessina watched as he climbed up the building in front of her until he was out of sight. The events of the day were running rampant through her mind as she stood there in the shadows of the Palazzo Vecchio looking at the hanging scaffold in the middle of the Piazza. In the morning, the fate of the Auditore would be decided and she still did not know where she fit into all of it. Most of the events that lead her here were still a mystery and even the reason behind her own marriage to the Auditore was still unseen to her. None of it made sense in the beginning, but some things were revealed to her.

Giovanni had to have known this was going to happen. That was the only thought that ran through her head. He had told her once that if something happened to him that she would need to make sure his sons followed his footsteps if they should survive. What was he expecting to happen? All the answers lay with Giovanni Auditore and all she had was a clue.

Another subject that bothered her was Ezio's reaction to everything so far. He seemed to be holding together well enough, but she knew him well enough to know he was strong on the outside and on the inside. He was brave and willing to do what was needed. He was also brash and did have a temper from time to time. She also knew that he tended to react to things after the fact and behind closed doors. If Giovanni were to die tomorrow, Contessina did not know what Ezio would do.

That is what scared her the most in that moment.


	7. Devotion

**Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe in the midst of these strange and crazy times. I also hope you are all doing what you can to protect yourselves with this lovely Virus going around. With that being said, I hope my story is at least offering you an escape from the craziness. **

**I do have a question for you, my readers. **

**How is the pacing of this story? I find it to be slow in some places, but that will be changing the more I go into it. Comments are always welcome! I am always looking to improve my writing. **

Contessina wrapped her cloak around her body as the chilly air seeped through. She had been standing there near the Vecchio for some time while waiting on Ezio to descend. The guards had passed by her three times since he had gone up and they seemed to not notice her, which was a good thing. She began to walk around to try and warm herself, only that did not work. The air was getting colder the longer she waited.

Rubbing her hands together, Contessina walked away from where Ezio told her to stay without thinking. It was getting late and the Piazza was now very empty besides the city guard patrolling around keeping the peace. She did not know how long it would take for the guards to start asking questions because a woman alone at night was just begging for trouble, however her fears were interrupted by the sound of something heavy falling into a nearby cart full of hay. Contessina turned around to see what it was and saw Ezio emerge from the cart with hay sticking to him.

"How is your father?" She asked walking up to him.

"As well as can be expected." Ezio replied to her as she began to pick hay off of his clothes with her cold hands. "We need to get back home. Father said something about a hidden room and a letter to Uberto." He grabbed her hand as she pulled a large twig of hay from his hair. "Your hands are freezing!" He suddenly felt guilty for taking so much time, but she did come on her own volition.

"Don't worry about me, Ezio. I will be fine. How are your brothers?" Contessina asked him with concern etched all over her pale face.

"Petruccio is scared and cold, but he is unharmed. As for Federico, he has a busted nose." The young Auditore said feeling at a loss. "I should've come home sooner."

"No, don't think like that. If you had, you would have been taken away as well. Your father knew what he was doing, Ezio, trust him." She put her hand on his arm in comfort. "Let's get out of here before the guards come around again." Contessina did not give him the chance to reply before she grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her.

"You said that like you knew this was going to happen just like he did." Ezio resisted a little but relented.

"I did in a way, but right now, we need to get home." Contessina made it her mission to get Ezio to where he needed to be and at this point, he was more interested in answers than doing what his father told him to do. "I promise I will tell you everything I now later, but we have to do what Giovanni said." Ezio said nothing after that and let go of her hand to walk ahead of her a little. He was going to make sure they were not seen again.

Thankfully, the city guards seemed to be thinning out by the time the couple made it back to the Palazzo Auditore. The two of them stood at the front gate next to each other not sure what to say to one another. Contessina had grabbed Ezio's hand at some point and had not let it go since, but now the two of them needed that extra comfort. She looked at him and could see the turmoil on his face as he decided to walk into the courtyard. Whatever Giovanni had told Ezio was weighing heavily on the young man's mind.

Ezio pulled his hand from Contessina's grip and continued towards the door that belonged to his father's office. He slowly opened the heavy cypress door that he knew so well only to see the office had been completely ransacked. Contessina was close behind Ezio when he walked in to survey the damage done.

"Alfonso's men must have come back here to gather more evidence." She told him, but he did not answer her. Instead he moved towards the fireplace at the far end of the room and started looking for something that she had not seen before. "Ezio?"

Contessina blinked as he continued moving around until his hand settled on one of the sconces beside the mantle of the fireplace. Pulling down on it there was a click followed by the sound of stone grinding on brick as the back of the kiln began to sink down into the floor. Contessina's eyes widened at what she saw. She did not say anything more as she watched Ezio walk right into the hidden room that belonged to Giovanni and his secrets.

"Mio Dio." She whispered as she took a hesitant step forward to follow her husband into the secret that his father had kept from him for so long. The blond watched Ezio move to the chest sitting on the floor straight ahead of him and kneel down before opening it. There was something about this that made Contessina feel like she did not belong there, and she probably should not be there to witness what was going on.

Reaching into the chest, Ezio pulled out the familiar clothing that Contessina had seen Giovanni wear on several occasions before. The belt, boots, and the cape were all laid out on the floor as Ezio searched through the chest for the letter he was told to bring to Uberto, but instead he pulled out a bracer that seemed to be broken. Ezio reached in again finding something that did not belong in there; Contessina's little book of poetry. He turned to look at her and held the little book up for her to see and she moved to take it from him without speaking.

She had thought she put it on the table in the hallway before she left the day before and she had forgotten about it with all that had happened. Looking at it, she noticed a piece of parchment sticking out from the pages of the small book. Opening the book, she carefully removed the small letter addressed to her in Giovanni's handwriting. The man had prepared for everything it seemed. Almost as though he could see the future. Opening the parchment, she began to read the contents.

_Contessina, _

_Remember who you are. You are a Medici and you are also an Auditore. Use this to your advantage and do what needs to be done._

_Giovanni Auditore_

The letter was vague, but Contessina understood what her father-in-law meant. She was now a player in a game she did not completely understand and Ezio was just as much of a player who did not know all the rules either. However, she would help Ezio learn those rules even if she did not know them well herself. Looking up she saw that he had found the letter he was looking for before standing up. Setting the book down on a small table nearby, she moved to pick up the robes he had set down on the top of the chest.

"There is so much I do not understand, Contessina." He said looking at her with dark eyes. "I do not know where to begin."

"Start with this." She held the robes his father once wore up to Ezio and he took them from her. "Trust your Father, Ezio." She put a hand on his chest. "He wore these robes to protect his family. I do not know all of what he did, but I know it was important or Lorenzo would not have entrusted me to you." She said before turning away leaving the young man there wondering exactly what it was, she meant.

Contessina exited the room to let Ezio dress himself on his own and so that she could also absorb what had happened. When the dawn comes, the world would forever change for the Auditore. If the letter was delivered to Uberto and Giovanni freed along with Federico and Petruccio, where did that leave the family? Shamed or exiled? She did not know for certain, but she knew that their name was tarnished now. With her back turned to Ezio she could hear him moving around as he put on the clothes his father wore and when she finally looked on him again, she was amazed.

Ezio was standing there in all his importance, but still unsure of the meaning of the clothes he wore. He put his father's sword in its scabbard at his hip and turned to face her before putting the cowl over his head. For the first time since she had ever looked on Ezio, Contessina felt out of breath. She had to hold down the feelings inside of her as she stood up to meet him as he came out of the hidden room with the bracer and letter in his hands.

"How does it feel?" Contessina asked Ezio as she made a few adjustments to the cape on his shoulder.

"Strange." He answered her. "Like I am someone else."

"You are not someone else, you are still Ezio Auditore da Firenze and you are also still Spartacus." She smiled at him before backing away. "There." She said admiring Ezio's tall stature and how the outfit made him look like his father.

"I need to get this to the Gonfalonier." He held up the wax sealed letter and she nodded. "I will have to find a place to stay tonight."

"Come to the Palazzo Medici." Contessina blurted out and then realized that was not ideal as the guards were likely going to be watching the Medici because of their connection to the Auditore.

"Is that a good idea?" Ezio gave her a curious look.

"No but do it anyway. Do you remember how to get in through the garden?" The blond woman asked, and he nodded. "Go in through the servant's entrance to the kitchen from the side gate of the garden. I will wait for you there."

"Alright, I will not be more than an hour. I will go bring the letter to Uberto and then go to the Palazzo Medici." He said picking up her hand and kissing the back of it. "Thank you, Contessina. For everything." Ezio told her before leaving her there in Giovanni's study.

The Medici girl felt her face grow hot and suddenly realized something. She was starting to feel more than just platonic love for her husband, but she also felt like herself again. For the first time in months she felt like she could breathe all of a sudden and she felt like she had a purpose. Contessina was not in love with Ezio, no, far from it. She admired him greatly now more than she ever had before because he was being the brave boy, she had met years ago. Ezio was growing up right before her and it excited her. There was pried swelling up inside her while the overwhelming darkness of sorrow came pouring in to crush that pride.

Cammillia waited for Contessina in the sitting room with Ginevra. The old woman coughed as she sat near the fireplace to keep herself warm and her face was full of worry. The room was silent other than the crackling fire and the occasional flipping of a page of a book that Ginevra was deeply engaged in. Every now and then, the older woman would look up to see Cammillia rub her abdomen. To be with child during a time like this was not unfathomable. Ginevra herself had been with child during a difficult time herself and suffered greatly for it with the death of her only son only months after the birth of Contessina.

The empathy she had for the girl sitting in the chair next to her made her bitter old heart soften. Cammillia had always been a bright girl and when Lorenzo brought her back from Volterra as an orphan, she knew the girl would be trouble. The difference between how Ginevra handled the auburn-haired child compared to Clarice, was that the older woman understood what it was like to be alone. She could say the same thing about her own daughter's marriage to the Auditore boy, but that was not entirely in her control. As head of the Medici family, Lorenzo was the one to make all arrangements for all eligible women in the household. Even though Ginevra knew this, she still put up a good fight with Lorenzo over it, but he was just as stubborn.

"Mother?" Contessina's voice came from behind them and Cammillia looked up to see the younger girl standing there with her cloak draped over her arm. "Milia?"

"Thank God you are alright!" Cammillia stood up and rushed to embrace the blond girl.

"Yes, thank God. If Cammillia did not tell me you were with Ezio Auditore, I would have worried." Ginevra said with little concern etched in her voice. "What were you thinking, Giulia?"

"Mother, now is not the time." Contessina said in annoyance as she set her cloak down on the chair by the door. "And I was thinking maybe I should help my husband when he clearly has no one to help him." Anger rose up within the blond as she went to stand before her mother. "You told me when I married him to do my duty as a wife and... guess what? I am doing my duty. To my family and to him."

"Contessina...please." Cammillia said grabbing her arm. "She didn't mean it like that."

"It doesn't matter if she meant it like that or not, I did what she told me to do and then she criticized me for it." Contessina said looking at her friend with hard eyes. It was clear that the young Medici was feeling singled out by the two other women in the room.

"Come with me." Cammillia said pulling Contessina away from her mother; leaving the old woman there to sit in silence once again. "Why do you treat her so?"

"All of my life she treated me as if I were a chance for her success. If given the choice, she would have picked another banker's son for me, but Lorenzo chose Ezio and she has been bitter about it ever since." The blond said as Cammillia walked her to the kitchen.

When they entered the room, the fire was still lit with a roasted chicken on the spit. One of the cooks, Hugo, was slowly turning the spit from beside the fire as he sprinkled a little salt and pepper on the roasting bird. Contessina had known Hugo for most of her life as a man from Austria on the run from the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs. He said that the war and taxes drove him from his little village in the mountains just above the borders of Italia. Lorenzo had welcomed Hugo into Florence and gave him employment as their cook. Hugo had been in the Medici's service ever since.

"Of course, she would be bitter. You are her only child and she is losing you to a man." The older woman said as Contessina sat down at the cook's prep table. Hugo saw her and gave her a warm smile before taking a knife to cut a piece of meat from the chicken. "It is not easy, Contessina." The auburn-haired woman sat across from the blond as Hugo set a plate full of chicken, grapes, and cheese in front of them. "Grazie, Hugo."

"Don't worry about it, you must eat for the_ bambini_. " The rotund cook said with a smile. "And of course, you must be famished as well, Little Dove."

"Is there enough for another, Hugo? My husband will be at the back door soon." Contessina inquired.

"Si, there is." The cook nodded his head before going back to the roast. "Should I get some wine then?"

"I think we could use some of Lorenzo's good wine. I doubt he will mind considering the circumstances." Cammillia said getting up to fetch the bottle of red wine from the cupboard while Hugo found three cups for the wine. Contessina sat there watching in silence as she thought about what would happen next. "1459. A good year." Cammillia said sitting down and putting the bottle with the handwritten label on the table. "Hugo, if you would please?" The cook did not have to be asked twice before opening the bottle to let the wine breathe.

"That is an excellent fragrance. Messere Lorenzo has good taste." The man said before pouring the wine into two of the cups.

"That he does." Contessina said smelling the wine herself before drinking it. The taste was fruity, but it had aged well enough to give it the strong bitterness that was expected of a vintage such as that.

"I hope Federico is alright. I hate thinking of him as a caged animal when he did nothing wrong." The older woman said as tears started to well up in her eyes. "Contessina, I do not know what I would do if he were to..." She put a hand over her mouth to stop the sobs from coming when Contessina put a hand over hers.

"I can't promise anything, Milia. I cannot promise he will be safe, but I hope he will be. I hope all of this is just a misunderstanding and that the boys will be free. I want Giovanni to live so that Maria can live out the rest of her days with him and I want Federico to be there when his child is born. I want to see Petruccio grow up and find his own way. I want our family to be whole, but I know that there is a chance it may not be." She squeezed Cammillia's hand with tears coming to her blue eyes. "Most of all, I want this to be just a passing nightmare." She sobbed knowing that it could all go badly in the morning with Giovanni's trial and what is worse is that Ezio would be present to watch if it did go badly. Contessina held on to the other woman's hand as she cried until a knock was heard at the back door.

"I will get it, Little Dove." Hugo said with a soft look in his eyes before leaving the two women to themselves. "I found this strange man at the back door; he seems to be lost." Hugo came back moments later with a young man dressed in familiar robes.

"I am not that lost, Hugo." Ezio's voice cut through the air like a blade and both women felt relieved. Cammillia stood up with tears still trailing down her cheeks to embrace the young man. "I'm alright, Milia." He hugged her back before looking down at Contessina who seemed to have a few tears herself. When Cammillia backed away he removed the cowl from his head so that they could see his face and then he sighed. "I delivered the letter to Uberto, but there was something strange. A man dressed in a cloak stood behind him with a clergy's cross around his neck."

"A Cardinal?" Hugo said pouring wine into the empty cup before handing it to Ezio.

"Grazie, and... maybe. He was from Roma for sure." Ezio said before taking a drink while Contessina and Cammillia looked at each other in confusion.

"Maybe I should write to Carlo in the morning." Contessina said thinking of her Uncle in Roma. "Perhaps he can give us insight as to who is going to and from Roma to Firenze." She said.

"I will do it. It will give me something to focus on while..." Cammillia stopped to breathe. Ezio knew what she was saying and put a hand on her shoulder as she sat down. "It is the least I can do."

"You do not have to do anything, Milia. You should take care of yourself and the baby." Ezio told her revealing that he knew about her pregnancy. The woman nodded before standing up again feeling useless.

"He is right, but I do have something else you can do. You can help me with cooking tomorrow." Hugo said with a small smile knowing that the young woman loved to help in the kitchen. "My Francesca, God rest her soul, would have my head if I let you sit around twiddling your thumbs." The cook said.

"Perhaps we should talk somewhere else?" Contessina said quietly to Ezio as she stood up with her cup of wine. "I believe Hugo is trying to distract Cammillia." She picked up the bottle of wine and handed it to him before grabbing his arm. She pulled him to the other door that lead out to the atrium before she led him up the stairs to her old room.

"Contessina, I..." He started when they got to her door and she shook her head when she opened it.

"Stop." She said turning around and grabbing the wine bottle out of his hand before placing it on the table next to the bed. She places her cup next to it before also grabbing the one in his hand. "We need to talk about how you feel." She put the cups next to the bottle before moving to undo the cape on his shoulder.

"I don't know how I feel." Ezio said putting a hand on her upper arm to stop her for a moment and she looked up at him. "Is that wrong?" She removed the cape and threw it on the foot of the bed.

"No." She said starting to work on his belt. "You are still trying to understand what is going on." Contessina worked at the belt with her thin fingers. "I still do not understand either." She removed the ornate belt from his waist before starting on the front of the robes.

"You don't have to do this." Ezio said grabbing her hand and holding it in a gentle grip that made her neck heat up.

"I want to." Contessina looked into his golden-brown eyes pleading with him to let her continue as though she had done this since the beginning. "Please?" Did he not see that she was trying to make a connection with him? He loosened his hand and let her continue after a moment. They had been friends since childhood, but now he realized that he had pushed her away. He had pushed her away the moment he had met Cristina and he sighed upon realizing his mistake.

"What have I done to you, Contessina?" He asked her and she looked up at him again.

"Nothing that can't be repaired, Ezio." She said as she reached up to push the robes from his shoulders. "That is something you and I can work on later, but right now, what matters is your family." He was truly astonished at her willingness to put her own desires aside for that of another's. She was the very definition of a martyr and it annoyed him. Not because she was being complacent, but because she was raised to be that way and he knew she was doing as she was told.

"Please, stop being this Contessina when I need the other Contessina right now." He spoke of the wild child he had known all his life. "Is this the Contessina that I had a hand in creating? Beat down and complacent?" He became angry, but not at her. Ezio was angry at himself. "I need you, not a shell with your face on it." He grabbed her shoulders roughly. "I need..." He almost broke down in that moment when he felt hopeless. Ezio's shoulders sagged and his grip on her faded away.

"Ezio." He heard her whisper as she embraced him. Contessina put her head on his chest and held him close knowing that the event from the day were starting to sink into him. "I am here. I never left." He grabbed her and pulled her closer.

Later they laid in the bed together with his head on her stomach as she ran her fingers through his hair. Ezio's arms were still wrapped around her as he laid on his stomach. At some point he had given up control of his emotions and let them escape from his body. Now his eyes were half opened as he thought over what happened over the last few hours and sleep was nowhere to be found. Soon enough he would have to leave Palazzo Medici to watch his father's trial and possible execution.

"What will happen to Petruccio and Federico?" Contessina asked Ezio as she sat up a little. She felt him squeeze her a little tighter in protest of her movement, but his head was laying on her diaphragm.

"There is no reason to execute my brothers, but I am sure that Uberto will stop the trial. He has always been a friend to our family and to the Medici." He moved his head so that he could look up at her. "I am going to the trial in the morning."

"You should, but be careful Ezio, I am not sure we can fully trust Uberto." Contessina said and he gave her a questioning look. "When Alfonso and his men came to take them away, he did it with force. If I hadn't stepped in and made an agreement with them, they would have dragged all three of them out of there beaten and bloody." She hated using her family name to resolve conflict, but in that situation, she felt she had no choice. "He said the Gonfalonier sent him. I know as well as you do, Ezio, that if Uberto Alberti was a friend he would have told Alfonso to bring you all in peacefully."

"You're right." Ezio said sitting up and moving to be upright next to her. "You think the Gonfalonier has betrayed us?" He pointed at her and she nodded in response.

"It makes sense Ezio." Contessina told him. "There is more though. Your father wanted me to make sure you and your brothers survived. He knew this was coming, you told me he knew about it."

"Yes, but I did not think...wait a moment." He rubbed his chin thinking about the events that happened during the day. "Father and Uberto were talking about Francesco de'Pazzi being in prison when I walked in. Do you think this is a plot to clear Francesco of his charges?"

"It certainly makes sense. What did they say?" Ezio's wife asked him as she moved to put her head on his shoulder.

"Uberto was telling Father he was overreacting and worrying too much about Francesco's possible escape from prison. Father was being cautious, and he had his doubts about the whole matter, but you may be right, Contessina." Ezio said putting his hand on her cheek as he felt her grab his arm. "I have to stop this."

"How?" She sat up with a questioning look on her face. "Ezio, you can barely wield a sword and Giuliano is not here to help you, neither is Lorenzo."

"I don't know." Ezio said looking down at his hands. "But I have to figure out something."

"What do you need me to do?" That was the second time she asked that question in the last few hours and he thanked the universe for Contessina's willingness to help him. Cristina may have been willing, but she would never do something like what he was about to do.

"Can you go with me?" Ezio looked at her with serious eyes and she nodded.


	8. The Fate of All Men

**Another chapter? Well now, this must mean there is more time to write. Yes, since all of my classes are being moved from on campus to online due to well, you know, I have plenty of time to write about things other than research papers and whatnot. **

**This chapter is emotional, but you will see a few changes happening with the characters. I also sped things up a bit in this chapter and I am also considering consolidating a few chapters together, so it doesn't seem like the story is dragging. Although, I can't tell because I'm not getting feedback on it, which I guess is good? I don't know. Anyway, I hope you are all doing well! **

There was no sleep for Ezio and Contessina the night before Giovanni Auditore's trial and Contessina doubted either of them would sleep for the next night. The word had already spread through Firenze by the time they left Palazzo Medici in the morning. Neither of them had the stomach to eat anything that morning as they sat at the table barely managing to take a bite of the bread that Cammillia had made. When it was time for them to leave, Cammillia embraced both of them in a sorrowful manner.

Once outside of the Medici home, Ezio and Contessina said nothing to each other knowing that there was a plan. She put her hood up over her head as he did the same, then they looked at each other before he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. Letting her hand go, he made his way to the rooftops, knowing that he could make it to the Piazza without being seen. If she were to walk the streets, no one would pay attention to her; at least she hoped no one would notice. Her heart was pounding in her chest the entire way there and as she passed a group of people talking about the Auditore trial, she could not help but to listen.

"I do not understand, I thought the Auditore were friends to Firenze? To all of us." One man said.

"He is accused of treason and his sons have been arrested too. Except one and they have been looking for him." A woman said.

"I heard he was with his wife, that Medici girl with the blond hair. I heard they fled Firenze in the night never to return." The rumors were circulating for sure. Contessina kept moving towards the Signoria with the knowledge that most thought she had left with Ezio. While that was obviously not true, it did provide her and Ezio some cover, but not much. The guards were still looking for him.

She could hear the noise of the crowd gathered at the Piazza from a distance. She could not tell if the people were cheering or if they were protesting; maybe a little of both, but it was loud. The closer she walked to the Piazza, the more she could hear what they were saying, and it frightened her.

"Kill the traitors!"

She heard that above all of it and her heart stopped. It was not uncommon for people to want vengeance or blood against whoever was being accused of such actions. There were executions in the past where the people of Firenze knew and loved the person being accused but the people turned against that person the very day of the execution. This was because the people demanded justice for the deception, or the appearance of deception. To some, execution was a form of entertainment, but to the families of the ones accused it was the worst day in their life.

As she came to the square where the executions were held, she saw Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio being led up the steps of the platform. Contessina's heart stopped when she watched the guard escorting Petruccio lead him to the furthest rope hanging down from the beam above them and put it over his head before pulling it snug around the child's neck. She closed her eyes and went over to the closest wall before leaning against it with sobs. He was only a child! A sickly boy who knew nothing of what was happening! How could Uberto Alberti let this happen to a child?

When she looked up again the guards had all three Auditore men strung up and ready for the word to hang them. Uberto Alberti stepped up on the platform with the man Ezio described to her last night. This man was familiar. She had seen him before when she went to Roma to visit her uncle. She could not recall his name, but he was indeed a Cardinal and a powerful one at that. What was a Cardinal doing there? That was a question that had Contessina thinking more on the circumstances than anything else at the moment, but she had to focus. She had to get into the crowd.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way into the tightly packed crowd of Florentines who were shouting various sayings. The noise was deafening, and she was being pushed around by anyone who she came in contact with. They were not letting her through. Some were throwing their fists in the air while chanting 'let them be hanged' or 'show them a traitor's death'. The same people who looked to the Auditore and the Medici when they were in need were calling for their deaths. This sickened Contessina and she stopped in the middle of the mob to catch her breath, but she was pushed forward unexpectedly. Bracing herself she accidently fell forward into a large man's back and when he turned around to see her, his eyes were full of anger. Contessina's hood had fallen down by that point and her blond hair had been visible.

"Why you..." He said. Contessina fear he was going to hit her, but instead he moved her aside to look at the person who had shoved her. "Go!" She had no idea who the man was, but he was a friend by the looks of it. She nodded and moved through the crowd as a fight started behind her.

Contessina was closer to the platform than she thought and when she reached the front of the crowd, she looked around to see the amount of guards on the perimeter. There were too many to fight. Ezio would be captured if he revealed himself leaving no way for any of the Auditore to make it out alive. The sinking feeling in her gut made her realize that this was also a trap for Ezio. She looked up at Giovanni knowing there was nothing she could do for them at this point and a sorrowful feeling made her act.

"What are you doing! He is only a child!" Contessina moved towards the guards hoping to distract them. "They have done nothing wrong!"

"Get her!" She heard Uberto yell out to the guards and they surrounded her. She was grabbed by the arms and pulled back into the crowd before they could get to her. Contessina tried to pull away from the stranger who held her.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She yelled out as she was pulled further back into the mob. "They are going to die! They are going to kill an innocent child!" And then a hand clamped over her mouth.

"Stop struggling. I am doing you a favor." The voice of her captor said in her ear. "If they catch you, they will use you to bait Ezio." He removed his hand from her mouth, but still held onto her.

"Giovanni Auditore, you and your accomplices stand accused of the crime of treason." Uberto Alberti's voice interrupted the shouting of the crowd. "Have you and evidence to counter this charge?" Contessina stopped moving to see the man addressing the crowd. The Gonfaloniere looked directly at Giovanni to see if he could provide any counter and the Auditore man struggled against his bindings in an effort to save himself from accusation.

"Yes. The documents that were delivered to you last night!" Giovanni yelled.

"What documents? I know nothing of any documents, and no one came to me last night." Uberto said addressing the crowds. Contessina could not believe what she was hearing, and she looked through the masses to see if Ezio had managed to make it there. All she saw was the white hood as he started to make his way through. She had been right, Uberto betrayed all of them. Even the Medici. "In the absence of any compelling evidence to the contrary, I am bound to pronounce you guilty!" Uberto looked back to Giovanni who became angry. "You and your collaborators are hereby sentenced to _Death_." The man that Giovanni trusted as a friend said looking to Federico and Petruccio.

"No!" Contessina said going still. Federico's eyes widened and then he closed them realizing this was the last few moments of his life. She could not imagine what was going through his mind at the sound of his death sentence. Petruccio stood still with a shocked look on his face before he started to struggle.

"I don't want to die!" She could hear him screaming out. "I don't want to die! Please don't kill me!" The crowd did not go silent. The people in the Piazza did not gasp or stop what they were doing. They watched as the boy struggled and they ignored his screams of protest. Contessina felt as though the world had gone mad. They did not care, and it broke her heart.

"You are the traitor, Uberto and one of_ Them_! You may take our lives this day, but we will have yours in return!" Giovanni yelled out as Uberto signaled for the executioner to pull the lever. "I swear! We will..." He was cut off by the floor dropping out from underneath him. All of a sudden, the crowd gasped.

"Father!" She heard Ezio's voice shout out as the sound of Giovanni's neck snapping reached her ears. It was too much to handle as she saw poor Petruccio's body convulsing as he struggled to stay conscious. The rope was too long so his neck was not able to snap, instead he would choke to death. As for Federico, he suffered the same as his father.

"Come, I must get you to safety." The man who held on to her pulled her away, but she did not want to move. "Contessina!" He said sharply to gain her attention. "Come." She did not know him, but he evidently knew her. When she turned around, she saw that he was wearing a cowl like Ezio, but instead it was an umbra colored cloak.

"I'm sorry, Messere, but I don't know you." She stopped and he turned around to face her.

"You do know me, or at least have heard of me." The man said before pulling her away from the crowd again. "I am simply known as La Volpe, but you may call me Volpe." He bowed his head to her curtly. "Now come, I must get you back to the Medici. My spies tell me Lorenzo is on his way back to Florence."

Contessina nodded before looking back to the Piazza where a commotion was going on. She hoped Ezio could get away to safety, but she also feared that Uberto would come knocking on the Medici door too. Uberto and the Cardinal had left the scene while the crowd started to disburse. She decided it was best for her to do as Volpe said and follow him through the streets if Firenze.

"Volpe, did Giovanni know?" She asked the master thief as he led her through the lesser known streets.

"He knew it was going to happen, but not in the manner that it did." The thief replied. "I have spies all over the city, there is nothing I do not know, but_ they_ got to Uberto first."

"Who is_ they_?" Contessina asked but she received no answer as they came to the Palazzo Medici's garden gate.

"I am not the one to answer that, Signora Contessina, but I can tell you I am here to help if ever you need it. My thieves and spies are at your service should you need them." He bowed to her with a small smile on his face. "You have my condolences for the tragedy today. Giovanni was a dear friend."

"Grazie." She curtsied to him before turning to enter through the garden. Once she closed the gate, she stopped to take a deep breath and closed her eyes. The worst part was yet to come as she would have to tell dear Cammillia that Federico had been unjustly executed over a crime that he had no involvement in.

How was she to tell Cammillia this without causing so much pain? Then there was the child that would never know its father. What if Cammillia's grief causes her to lose the child? There was so much to think about and Contessina had no idea how to say these things to her friend. These thoughts were frustrating the blond even more, yet she could not hold back the information she had for Cammillia. Doing so would only make matters worse.

The internal battle that was happening in Contessina was interrupted by Hugo coming from the back door to the kitchen. He saw her standing there with the unpleasant look of grief on her face and he echoed her grief. The Austrian cook came to her and put a hand on her shoulder in comfort knowing that the worst had happened. Hugo was not deaf to the word that spread around the city and it was bad enough that the servants were very keen on gossiping.

"Come, Little Dove." He said before the sound of a woman wailing came from inside the Palazzo.

Contessina did not stand around to wonder what was going on, she already knew who the cries belonged to. She bolted inside the house and through the kitchen to where the sound of Cammillia's cries of anguish originated from in the parlor. Coming to the open door she felt heartbroken at the sight of her friend on the floor in Ginevra's arms. Cammillia held on to the old woman who rocked the younger woman back and forth, whispering words of prayer to God so that he would take the auburn-haired woman's pain away.

A few hours later after Cammillia received the news of Federico's death, Contessina stood outside of the other woman's room waiting for the midwife to exit. Ginevra had feared the baby would be harmed by its mother's grief, so she insisted that the midwife come to make sure all was well. Ginevra also insisted that Cammillia's lying in should begin immediately, but Contessina felt that it would do more harm than good. As it was, her mother was already bringing in tapestries of positivity and had already put a tray in Cammillia's room to invoke the presence of God. When the door opened, the midwife stepped out with a neutral look on her face. The woman dressed in plain attire looked to Contessina and then to Ginevra before sighing.

"Well, she is much further along than I had originally thought. In her fourth or fifth month, but I do not feel she is in danger of losing the child." She said plainly. "With that being said, Ginevra, it is too soon for her lying in to take place. She must grieve without intervention and that will do her good." The midwife told the two women standing in front of her. "She specifically asked for Contessina to see her." The woman looked to the blond and then made her way down the stairs.

"The midwife does not know what she is talking about. The child needs God to comfort her." Ginevra said before going to the door, but Contessina stopped her mother. "What are you doing?"

"Mother, leave her be." The young woman said putting a hand on her mother's arm. "I will take care of her." Sometimes, Contessina felt as though Ginevra loved Cammillia more. This was one of the many reasons she and her mother had a difficult relationship with one another. Ginevra had higher expectations for Contessina, but she empathized more with Cammillia and this caused such a rift between mother and daughter.

"Fine then. I will be downstairs." The old woman said before slowly walking away leaving Contessina at the door. The young woman sighed before entering the room and found Cammillia sitting on the bed staring out of the window with her hand on her rounding belly.

"Tell me the truth Contessina. Tell me that he died painlessly." The sorrow in Cammillia's voice invoked the scene of Federico's body lifelessly hanging with a broken neck. Contessina winced at the sharp pain that flooded through her body as the images of Petruccio convulsing as he hung from the rope. She shook her head to try and remove them, but she found she could not get them out. "Tell me everything."

"Are you sure?" Contessina said going to sit next to her friend on the bed and the other woman looked at her with irritated red eyes from crying.

"I'm sure." She swallowed and then sniffed.

"Giovanni and Federico...when the floor dropped out from underneath their feet..." Contessina paused trying to find the words. "It was so sudden, but the sound of their necks snapping...I can't get it out of my head." She started to sob and Cammillia pulled her into a hug. "Petruccio...his rope was too long." She said between her sobs. "He strangled to death."

"Contessina." Cammillia said pulling away with sobs of her own and put her hands on Contessina's face. "Look at me." The young girl who witnessed death firsthand for the first time looked into the eyes of her friend. "This is the first time you have seen someone die and it will be hard to move past it. It is even harder when it is someone you love, but this is not the first time I have seen death or lost someone I love. I was there when my parents were killed right in front of me by the man who brought me back here. True, it was not Lorenzo that did it, but it was on his orders. The blood is on his hands and I hated him for the longest time because of it, but losing Federico, is the most painful thing I have ever felt." She sobbed. "I am no stranger to death, and I will learn to live without him, but I have to because of this." Cammillia grabbed Contessina's hand and put it on her belly. The blond sniffled as she felt Cammillia's child move and then there was a feeling of hope and love. "I hurt badly, but I will live, and I need you to stay with me until my child is born."

"Milia, I could never leave you." Contessina sobbed before hugging Cammillia close again. "I am sorry. So sorry, that I could not do anything to stop this." She pulled away.

"I was not expecting that of you, or Ezio. You are both good and a little naïve, but you are only human. You cannot stop something that you have no control over, but I know Ezio. I know he will want revenge for his father and brothers." The auburn-haired woman said looking back out the window. "The Auditore will live on through Ezio and God willing, your children as well as mine."

"Cammillia, I do not think that is in the cards for Ezio and I. Not with the way things are going. Ezio is the most wanted man in Florence right now and if he should take his revenge on Uberto, Lorenzo will exile him from Firenze." Contessina was right. She knew Lorenzo would not willingly put Ezio to death for enacting revenge on someone who had clearly betrayed the Auditore and the Medici, but he would exile Ezio until a resolution could be found. What this meant for Contessina is she had a choice to make. "Because you do not have ties to the Auditore anymore, except your child, you will not be exiled. I on the other hand, am the wife to the most sought-after man in all of Firenze. I would either have to ask for annulment from the Pope or go with Ezio." She said knowing this was going to be a hard choice. Perhaps speaking to Lorenzo about this was the only way to find a solution and Lorenzo may let her stay in Firenze for a time.

"You need to ask Ezio what he is planning to do if he is still alive." Cammillia put an arm around Contessina's shoulder and pulled her close. "And you need to think about what you are going to do."

The two women sat there on the bed looking out of the window for a time before a commotion downstairs alerted them. The sound of feet stomping up the stairs caused Contessina to stand up and prepare for someone to grab her for being an accomplice for the Auditore, but when the door opened, it was not who she expected. She sighed in relief when she saw Giuliano with a relieved look on his face followed by Lorenzo.

"Thank God you two are safe." Lorenzo came in to embrace Contessina and then to Cammillia who was relieved to see the both of them. "I am sorry, I tried to make it here in time, but it seems I am too late."

"I was able to catch up to him late last night. Thank God you stopped at the vineyard or we would have been much later." Giuliano said to his brother as he stood there with his gloves in his hand. "What of Ezio?" He asked Contessina.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since the execution when he escaped." The blond looked down at her hands.

"That is good then, but Contessina, you do know that he cannot stay in Firenze?" Lorenzo asked her and she nodded. "I am afraid that until the Pazzi are dealt with, Ezio must take what is left of his family away from here. I cannot keep the Gonfaloniere from going after him and what is worse, he could have you arrested as well." The head of the Medici family was right.

"What about Milia? She is with child and can't travel all over the countryside." Contessina asked looking at her cousin for some answers.

"Lorenzo, what if Contessina sent a dispensation to the Pope to have her marriage annulled, could that buy her enough time?" Cammillia said standing up from the bed and putting a hand on Contessina's shoulder.

"It could. A dispensation does not mean the marriage is annulled; it just means she has permission if she chooses to do so, but it would keep her out of harm's way." Lorenzo said.

"For now, at least. You do realize that if you do get permission you will have to either go through with it or leave Firenze." Giuliano said to her with stern eyes.

"I do, but if it buys me time to stay here with Milia, then that is what I will do." The blond girl knew exactly what she was doing and nodded to Lorenzo. It would not only buy her time, but it would allow her to stay in Firenze until Cammillia was well enough to travel.

"I will start drafting a letter tonight." Lorenzo told her and he turned to Giuliano. "I need you to ride to Roma first thing in the morning."

"Fine, but I need to borrow a horse." The blond man said before leaving the room to eat and rest.

"I am glad that you are both alright." Lorenzo moved to the two women and kissed them both on the forehead. "I am grieved that I did not make it back in time to stop this and now I have lost not only a dear friend, but family as well." He said before leaving them. The two women looked at each other in concern for the words Lorenzo said, but something bothered them.

Later that evening, Contessina found herself walking in the garden alone. She needed a place to quiet her mind and find some peace from the images that still haunted her, but her peace was disturbed when Ezio walked out of the shadows. He looked lost. He appeared to her as if he were a shade, like a ghost of his former self, but when he walked up to her it was different. He was not some figment of her imagination because he quietly embraced her, and he was solid. She understood that he needed comfort in that moment and the one he wanted it from was not there to give it. Contessina was the next best option and he came to her at great risk.

"You cannot be here, Ezio." She said leaning her head against his shoulder.

"I know, but I need your help." He told her and she picked her head up to look at him. "I need you to help me with...the bodies." The image of Petruccio's suffering flashed through her mind and she nodded without hesitation.

"Of course. Ezio, they were my family too." Contessina rubbed his upper arm in comfort, but the images still made their way back into her head. She was sure he could read her face in the late afternoon sun.

"What is it?" Ezio asked her as she looked away from him. He places his hand on her waist.

"It's nothing. I will tell you later when we have time." She told him avoiding the topic before moving away. "Let me get my cloak. Did you eat anything?" He shook his head. "I'll see if Hugo has anything he can spare." She left him in the garden while she went through the door of the kitchen. "Hugo, have you been watching the entire time?" She said when she saw the cook standing there with her cloak and a small satchel filled with meat and bread.

"I could not help it, Little Dove. He arrived when I was gathering some more wood for the fire, it is the least I can do as Giovanni was also a good friend." The rotund Austrian said handing her the satchel and her cloak. "Go on, I will tell Messere Lorenzo you went to Sandro's workshop."

"You are the best, Hugo." She stood up on her toes to give the cook a kiss on the cheek. "Grazie. Oh, and bring Milia some food, she needs to eat."

"Si, I will make sure she is well fed." The cook watched as she threw on her cloak and ran out the door.

"Here, this is for you." Contessina said walking up to Ezio with the satchel full of food in her hand and giving it to the man. "Take it with you for later."

"Grazie, Contessina." He bowed his head quickly before leading her out of the garden towards the Piazza della Signoria where the bodies of their family were still likely hanging in the square as was the custom.

The way there, Ezio barely said anything, in fact no words had been exchanged between them. Contessina dreaded seeing the bodies of Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio up close, not because she felt it obscene, but because it would confirm the images in her head. She did not want to see Petruccio's face because she felt like she had failed in keeping him safe. However, she knew that she could do nothing at the time of their death, so her feelings were in vain. Before she knew it, they were standing there in the Piazza, but the bodies were gone.

"Where could they have taken them?" Ezio said in frustration and Contessina looked around to see if there were any guards. She grabbed on to his arm to bring his attention to the four guards talking to each other by the platform and looked at him.

"They will know, but Ezio, be careful." The blond told him as he began to walk to the group of armored men. She watched as Ezio started a conversation with them only for the guards to recognize him. Contessina brought her hands up to her mouth wondering if she should cause a distraction, but it seemed Ezio was enraged enough to beat up the guards himself. Now there was definitely a reason not to be seen by anyone.

Contessina moved closer to the cart of hay that would break her line of sight with the guards Ezio was currently interrogating. How could he be such a fool in that moment and not draw attention to himself, but he did get the answers he wanted. She waited behind the cart until he started walking in her direction with a serious look on his face, one that she had never seen before. There was no doubt that Ezio was changing into something less naïve and more fight.

"They intend to dump the bodies in the river." Ezio said coming up to where she stood behind the cart and sighed. "Will you distract the guards?"

"I am not sure how much of a distraction I can be when..." She stopped when she realized what he was trying to say. Ezio's eyes moving up and down her body as a way of telling her to use her feminine wiles to distract the other men. "Fine. Just this once Ezio Auditore." She retorted before taking off her cloak to reveal the form fitting dress she had been wearing all day. "Anything else?"

"Your hair. It needs something." Ezio said before pulling the pin holding her hair up out and letting her bright blond hair fall to past her waist. "There." She gave him a displeased look as he put her cloak and the pin inside the cart of hay to retrieve later.

"Right, I will deal with the guards and you retrieve the bodies." Contessina said taking a deep breath and moving to where Ezio pointed towards the Arno and the Ponte Vecchio. "I can do this." She said to herself as she nervously moved to the guards. She needed to make it look real and convincing, so she found a little dirt to smear all over her face and dress. She tossed her hair around to make it look as though she had been roughed up and the bruise on her cheek was still color enough to make her look as though she had been robbed by thugs. "I can do this." She said as she came into the proximity of the guards. She tried to make herself look frantic and gave herself a slight limp. "Please...help me...he came from nowhere." She grabbed on to the nearest man.

"Signora? Is everything alright? What happened?" The man said as he held on to her.

"I was walking along and he...he...he came out of the shadows and did terrible things before he took my money." She started to cry. "Please! You have to find him!" She pointed in the direction of the Santa Maria del Fiore. "He ran that way! Please he could do the same to another innocent woman!" She raised the tone of her voice as the two men looked at one another.

"Signora, please, calm down. We will find him." The two men said. "But we cannot leave this spot, you must go to the Vecchio and ask for someone else." Contessina felt as though she had failed in her endeavors, but she saw Ezio's silhouette come up from behind the two men before he hit them in the back of the head with a wooden post.

"Then what good are you anyway." Contessina said as the two men dropped to the ground unconscious. Ezio dropped the post on the ground and grabbed one of the men by the arms before dragging him to the cart next to the building.

"Keep an eye out for more guards while I handle this." The Auditore man said as he came back to drag the other guard away. A few minutes later, Ezio returned to her and pulled her to the cart that held the bodies of Giovanni, Federico, and Petruccio.

"How could they do this?" She said putting a hand on Petruccio's pale cheek. "He did not deserve this, neither did Federico or your father." She sniffed as tears came to her eyes. She felt Ezio lay a hand on her shoulder as she began to sob. "Give them the burial they deserve, Ezio." Contessina turned to look at her husband. "Mourn them properly and I will wait here for you." She watched as the young man began to take the bodies of his father and brothers to the boat that would take him down the river to a proper spot for burial.

Contessina found a bench nearby and sat on it as she waited for Ezio to return. Her tears had yet to dry up and she kept thinking about the execution. Petruccio's face was angelic in death, while Federico looked as though he were sleeping, and Giovanni looked as though he were at peace. Perhaps he was knowing that Ezio would follow in his footsteps. The hardest part for Contessina though, was that she could not go with Ezio when he left Firenze. She also wondered what Maria and Claudia were thinking about all of this. Did they know about Giovanni's execution along with the two brothers? Those questions were at the front of her mind.

She must have sat there for a couple hours before she found herself growing tired. Contessina had not slept for two days at least, but it felt like an eternity since she had. She began to drift off into sleep when she felt a hand on her shoulder and someone sitting down next to her. She looked over to see Volpe there with her cloak and the hair pin.

"Volpe?" She blinked as he covered her with the navy cloak. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure Ezio clears the city without any trouble. I have my thieves posted along the river to distract the guards should they ask questions." The man said as she adjusted her cloak around her. "It is the least I can do for your family, but I do have something else to offer you."

"What is it?" Contessina sat up in curiosity.

"I know that you have certain skills with forging, but what if I could teach you some other skills that may be useful to you in the future?" Volpe asked her and she gave him a confused look. How on Earth did he know about her forging skills? "Giuliano told me of your 'obsession' with forging when you were younger."

"Ah, Giuliano. Of course, he runs in the same circle as a master thief." She sat back and leaned against the building behind her. "Alright, teach me. If you think I can be useful in this whole menagerie of confusing plots and secrets, then sure. But, Volpe, I want the truth. All of it." She gave him a serious look.

"Then you shall have it." He said before he stood up and walked away from her. "I will have one of my thieves come find you when the time is right." He bowed to her before leaving her alone completely. Contessina did not understand any of what was going on, but she knew it had everything to do with Giovanni and now Ezio. What was worse is that she knew more than Ezio about what his father did.

This would not go well with the young Auditore.


	9. Ezio's Revenge

**Everyone still doing okay out there? I hope so. Anyway, I am really enjoying spending time with you guys (well, sort of spending time with ya'll, if you think about I'm just doing the writing and you guys are doing the reading…I guess it's a form of communication and spending time with ya'll?) and I'm glad that some of you are finding comfort in this story with all the craziness going on out there right now. **

**Thank you so much for your review SrenzoJIG! I really do appreciate it. **

**With that being said, things are about to pick up a little bit with the pacing of the story. It's still going to be paced well, but its going to mostly be from Contessina's point of view, however, we do get to see some of our favorite characters. Don't worry, Ezio will be there too and you will find out how in a bit. Until then, enjoy!**

The spot Ezio found for the burial of his father and brothers was a quiet place on the banks of the Arno where giant oaks shielded him from view of the city. There was great sorrow in his heart as he looked down on the bodies of his family laid out underneath the great tree. The tree's roots went deep and Ezio was sure no one would think twice about a little turned up dirt at the base of the tree. However, no shovel would be able to navigate the roots either so he would spend hours digging graves by hand if he had to.

The worst part was having to roll the bodies into the shallow graves and leaving them unmarked. Afterwards, Ezio grieved like he had never had before. No amount of tears could bring his father back, or Federico who could never see the birth of his own child, and then there was Petruccio. He loved Petruccio because he was so frail and innocent, but he did not deserve to die like this. His sickly brother who he had almost lost to illness more than once, should never had to die struggling for air. Ezio almost wished that he had died years ago when sickness put the boy into a deep sleep, but he also wished that Petruccio was always healthy. How much pain could one person take?

Ezio could not answer that question as he sat under the bows of the great oak and cried. This would be the only time and the last time he would cry. Not until he was sure that Uberto Alberti had paid for his transgressions against the Auditore family. After his tears dried up, Ezio moved back to the boat to go back to Firenze where Contessina waited for him. Taking one last look at the place where his father and brothers were buried, he made a promise to return one day before he started to row his way back upriver to the Ponte Vecchio.

When he made it back to where he left Contessina, he found her resting on the bench beside the empty cart with her cloak wrapped around her. Ezio could see the dried tears on her cheeks as she slept there peacefully. He knew she was just as exhausted as he was, but he could not go back to the Palazzo Medici with her. Not with Lorenzo on his way home.

"You're back." She said without opening her eyes.

"It's done." Ezio told her as he sat down on the bench next to her. "They have been laid to rest." He watched as she opened her eyes and looked over to him. Her long hair spilling over her shoulders made her seem as though she were some witch in that moment. She was enchanting in the moonlight; Ezio never denied that, but tonight he saw her in a different light.

"What will you do now?" She reached over and placed a hand on his forearm as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"I am going to kill Uberto." Ezio told her with all the hatred he could muster in his voice, but somehow, she did not protest him on this action. Instead, she stood up and walked away for a moment. "What is it?"

"There is something I have to tell you." She said with a sigh. Ezio sat up with a confused look on his face wondering what she had to say. "Lorenzo is back in Firenze and he has no choice but to exile you, your mother, and your sister." She said sadly.

"What about you and Cammillia? Surely you are exiled too." He stood up. "Contessina, what have you done?"

"Cammillia is a widow now, she is under Medici protection." She turned around to face Ezio looking down at her hands. "But I have a choice to make. If I leave with you, Cammillia will be alone without someone she can trust. If I stay, Lorenzo will ask for dispensation from the Pope to have our marriage annulled." Contessina said without looking at Ezio and he felt like he had been punched in the gut. She was important to him and now she had to make a choice to leave or stay because of him. It was not fair. "Ezio, dispensation does not mean we have to go through with the annulment, but it gives me and Cammillia time. Once she is well enough to travel with the baby, we will find you." Then that punch to the gut turned into relief. Contessina was not abandoning him and she was not going to abandon Cammillia either. For that he silently thanked whoever was watching over them.

"What will you do in the meantime?" He asked her as he moved to put his hands on her arms. Ezio could not imagine being without her at this point, but he also realized that Cristina was no longer the constant in his mind. It was strange, but he needed Contessina to steer him in the right direction.

"I will do what I can here to help you." Contessina said with a small smile. "I plan to have Giuliano teach me how to work with a blade." There she was. The Contessina he needed. The sly, overconfident, witty and sarcastic, Contessina that had been absent these last few months. Ezio could not help himself as he grabbed on to her and held her close with his fingers running through her hair. His best friend was back. "Ezio, I cannot breathe."

"I'm sorry. It's just you are Contessina again." He said letting her go. "I mean, you have always been Contessina, but you have been distant." Ezio told her and then he looked at her with sad eyes realizing it had been his fault all along. "And I am the one to blame." He grabbed her hands and held them in his. "I should have taken better care of you instead of letting my desires tear us apart."

"If only all men said the things you are saying to me now. The world would be a better place, Ezio." She told him with a sad smile. "I told you before that I could never stand in the way of someone you love, but I cannot say I was jealous." He nodded to her in understanding. His heart felt lighter in that realization, but he still felt going back to Cristina was not an option out of respect for the woman standing in front of him. He was a fool before, and he learned his lesson.

"Is this the last time we will see each other then?" He asked her, feeling as though he were about to step away from her forever.

"No, not the last time, but for a while." She told him. "You do have to leave once you carry out your plans to kill Uberto, but where will you go?"

"Spain, but I will go to my uncle in Monteriggioni first." Ezio said and she nodded in sadness. She must have thought he would stay in Italia, but he could not. Spain was a place where they could live out the rest of their lives without having to worry about the Pazzi. "What is it?"

"It is just something your father said to me. He wanted to make sure his sons survived to finish what he started, whatever that was." Contessina looked down at their hands as they were still entwined with each other. He followed suit and noticed how delicate her hands were in his. They were soft and different from Cristina's altogether.

"I have to protect my family and that includes you, Contessina. My father's plans for me don't matter anymore." He said bringing her hands to his lips and kissing them. "I will send for you when we are settled in Spain." Ezio dropped her hands and began to walk away but she stopped him.

"Ezio, wait. Do not send letters addressed to me directly. Address them to Giulia, not Contessina." She told him and he nodded to her before leaving her there in the darkness. As much as she hated the name Giulia when her mother used it, she could deal with it when sending letters to her husband.

Contessina walked through the dark streets of Firenze in a sleepy haze. She was almost home and all she wanted was to crawl into bed without a care in the world. Sleep was beckoning her with a soft voice and when she reached the back gate to the Medici garden, she felt so heavy. It was a struggle to make it through the garden without tripping over a tree root or a bench, but she made it to the kitchen door without injury. She managed to open the door without making a sound and close it behind her. She looked around to see if anyone was still awake, but there was no one in sight. The fire had died down leaving the kitchen in a darkness only lit by the embers in the hearth.

She sighed before making her way to the stairs and then the troublesome part of making it up without a sound. Every little creak on the wooden stair meant for the servants was heard through the house on a wet day, but on a dry day it was louder than the clanging of pots. Perhaps it was best she goes up the stone stairs in the atrium instead. Those stairs did not make a sound, but the door to the atrium did. No matter what she did, she would wake the entire house up, but she was so tired. Contessina sighed before sitting in a chair next to the table to think about how to approach this situation, but as soon as she went still, her body started to shut down and her eyes grew heavy.

In her dreams, Contessina was walking through the streets of Firenze, but they were completely empty. Not a person in sight except she could hear their conversations. It was strange for sure, like she was witnessing the events of the day again, only there was emptiness. She walked hearing the shouts of the crowds as they chanted for the traitors to be hanged, but as she made it to the Piazza, it was empty. Except for one person standing in the center.

"Petruccio?" Her eyes started to tear up when she saw the boy smiling. He waved to her before she ran over to him and wrapped him in a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" She cried holding on to the boy tightly.

"It is not your fault. Look!" He said pulling away from her to show him the cape he had made. "I finished it!" It was long and covered in golden feathers like the story she told him. "Now I can fly away."

"Petruccio, it's lovely." Contessina gave him a smile as she picked up the cape and felt the soft feathers. "Don't fly too high Petruccio, I may never see you again."

"Yes, you will, but now you have to make sure Ezio doesn't do anything crazy." The boy smiled and she laughed at his joke. "Don't worry about me anymore Contessina, I'm going to fly away."

"Contessina?" Someone said and she felt someone shaking her by the shoulder. She looked around the Piazza, but no one was there including Petruccio who disappeared. "Contessina!" Opening her eyes, Contessina squinted at the sunlight in her face as she sat up in bed. She had no idea how she had gotten there, but Cammillia was standing over her trying to wake her up. "You were crying in your sleep again."

"I saw Petruccio again." The blond said wiping the tears from her eyes. The same dream had been coming to her every night since the Auditore execution and there had been no word of Ezio in almost a week since she had seen him last.

"It is the same for me, but with Federico." Cammillia said sitting down on the bed and pushing a lock of Contessina's bright blond hair behind her ear. "Lorenzo would like us to accompany him to Verrocchio's exhibit today. I cannot go, but perhaps you can. If everyone were to see you, they would believe the rumors of your divorce are true."

"News travels fast in Firenze then?" Contessina said before getting out of the bed and picking up her dressing robe. "I should have known that by now." She tied the sash tight around her waist before going over to the basin and washing her face.

"Word does travel fast and we can use it to our advantage." The red head put a hand on her belly to calm the kicking child within. "But I do think you should go to the exhibit."

"I will go if that helps my reputation." The blond woman said shaking her hands to rid them of the water before wiping them on a cloth next to the basin. "I may need your expert skills to deal with this beast atop my head though." She said pointing to her tangled hair.

"No problem." Cammillia stood from the bed to help Contessina.

Within an hour, Cammillia's work on the blond was complete. She had brushed it free of tangles before putting it into an intricate braid and letting it fall over the younger girl's shoulder. There were silver pins that Contessina had within the box of jewelry she had brought from Palazzo Auditore and Cammillia thought it best to use those to hold the braid in place.

"What about the blue dress? The one you wore for your birthday." Cammillia asked but Contessina did not think that was the right one to send a message to potential suitors that would make the rumors more real.

"No, the cream and rose one." She said putting a hand on Cammillia's arm with a smile. "If I am going to stay here with you, we need to make it look like the rumors are true. A virginal appearance will make it look as though my marriage never existed in the first place."

"Good thinking. Though, I wonder what Ezio thinks of this." That thought alone made Contessina feel guilty.

"He knows my intentions and the reasons for them. He trusts me." Contessina looked over her shoulder at Cammillia who was pulling out the dress from the trunk at the foot of the bed.

"In any case, you should be careful with your own heart." Cammillia said before dropping the subject.

Contessina took her friend's words to heart. The subject of her marriage and friendship with Ezio was a tricky one now because she was beginning to see him differently than before. Some part of her wanted to leave Firenze and go with him, but she knew she could do more to help him here. When La Volpe said she could learn from him, she did not hesitate because she wanted to know what it was, she had been involved with all this time. The only person who could give her answers was dead now and Volpe was eager to take up the position of guidance.

After dressing, Contessina went to find Lorenzo in his study. The head of the Medici household was writing a letter at the moment of her entry, but nonetheless he acknowledged her entrance. The blond took it as permission for her to sit down in the chair in front of him while he scribbled a message on the piece of parchment on his desk. There was something about the sound of the point of a quill scratching against the vellum that Lorenzo insisted on using for stationary. As Leonardo da'Vinci told her, vellum was becoming scarce and expensive while paper was becoming an artist's best medium. Of course, paper did not cost a lamb it's life all for writing material. Either way, she did like the sound of vellum scratched by quill.

"I have not seen that dress in a while." Her cousin said looking up at her with a small smile on his face. "Any reason for bringing it out for an occasion like this?" Lorenzo asked her as he put his quill down and folding the parchment up into a small square before he poured the wax to seal it.

"If I am going to stay in Firenze I may as well let everyone know the rumors are true of my impending divorce. Or at least make it appear that way." Contessina leaned back in the chair as Lorenzo took the seal from the corner of his desk and stamped it on top of the wax he poured.

"Vincenzo!" The Medici called out and one of the Medici guards came in. "See this letter is delivered to Bernardo Machiavelli as soon as possible." The name Machiavelli was familiar to Contessina as Bernardo was an attorney that worked closely with Lorenzo over domestic matters.

"Isn't it time to go, My Love?" Clarice came waltzing in with a bright smile on her face. "Contessina? You are going with us as well?" Lorenzo's wife said dropping her smile. "Lorenzo, what happens if she is spotted, she could be arrested."

"They would not dare arrest her in front of us, Mi Cara. You have no need to worry." The man said standing up from his desk and walking over to his wife. "Rumors of her impending divorce are spreading like wildfire, if she makes an appearance then it proves the rumors true. We want our enemies to know that we will not be shaken by this blow of losing the Auditore." He put his hands on Clarice's shoulders and held a smile on his face. "Come, we must go." Lorenzo held a hand out to Contessina.

"If you say so, Lorenzo, but what if it all goes wrong?" Clarice challenged her husband. "Francesco de'Pazzi has been released from prison thanks to Uberto and his betrayal. We have lost our greatest ally in this fight."

"Clarice! Enough." Lorenzo yelled at his wife who was more than a little concerned over things she should not have been concerned with. Contessina felt she should leave the room before an argument could break out between the two, but that was not the case when she saw Clarice shrink back. "We will not talk about this with ears and eyes upon us."

In Contessina's eyes, Clarice was not a horrible person, however she was very strict. Lorenzo's mother had put this match together with the help of Zio Carlo in Roma. When Cammillia had come from Volterra, Clarice did everything she could to cast the devil out of the child because of her red hair and her hatred of Lorenzo at that point. However, Ginevra was quick to save Cammillia from Clarice's treatment of the young girl. Clarice was not a bad person, she only had bad beliefs.

"Shall we go then?" Lorenzo's voice called for Contessina's attention again as he waited for her to grab his arm. She smiled before doing so and the three of them walked out of his study to the atrium before leaving the Palazzo Medici.

The walk to the Santa Croce was pleasant and easy. Contessina hung on to Lorenzo's arm nervously as she did fear a little backlash from some of the noble people that would also be attending the exhibit. She did hope that her appearance made an impact on the thoughts and opinions of Firenze as a whole, however there was a thought in the back of her mind that Uberto Alberti would be there. If she could, she wanted to get answers from him as to why it was necessary to execute an innocent child.

Entering the square of the Basilica di Santa Croce, Contessina laid eyes on the one person she wanted to question. There by the front of the basilica stood Uberto Alberti with two guards. He was giving them orders to keep watch for the Auditore boy that may or may not have left the city days ago. Uberto did not act paranoid, but he was cautious. He knew what was coming to him and he was waiting for Ezio to go after him. She wanted Uberto to pay for what he did too, but she did not have the means to make it so. Contessina watched as Uberto dismissed the guards before catching sight of Lorenzo. She had half a mind to stride up to him and slap him in the face, but that would only make trouble for her cousin. That and she was not brave enough.

"Lorenzo, it is good to see you." Uberto came up to the Medici trio with a false smile on his face. He grabbed Clarice's hand and kissed the back of it. "Signora Clarice, you look as lovely as ever. And if it isn't Contessina de'Medici, or should I say Auditore?" He did the same to her as he did to Clarice and she had to hold herself back from making a disgusted face. "It is good to see you out with your family. I am sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that have been put before you."

"You are very kind Gonfalonier, but I will make do." She said as he dropped her hand.

"Clarice, if you would take Contessina and go ahead, I must speak with the Gonfalonier." Lorenzo said to his wife who nodded before giving Uberto a curtsy. Contessina followed Clarice's example before linking arms with the older woman and moving towards the Santa Croce cluster.

"Do not look back." Clarice said as she walked with the blond girl. "If you look back, you will look suspicious and Uberto will not believe anything you say. He will think you are a spy for Ezio." Contessina nodded in understanding. "When we enter, be aware that there will be talk. Do not react to it, be polite and they will think you naïve." Clarice told her as they came to the steps where the guards blocked the entrance.

"Your invitations Signoras'?" A man said as he stood next to the guard.

"I do not think you need invitations from us, or do you forget our faces so easily Emilio Tournabouni? Do you not know the face of your cousin?" Contessina said stepping up to him with a glare on her face. The slim man backed up in fear.

"I am sorry Contessina, I am just following orders." He stuttered out. The man had always been a pushover and Contessina knew how to scare the life out of him. "Please, enjoy the exhibit!" He motioned for them to enter with an apologetic look on his face. Contessina felt rather pleased with herself on this occasion.

The courtyard was full of guests from the noble families of Firenze. All except the Pazzi that were nowhere to be seen. She wondered if they were up to something or if they were hiding until they could make their next move. Clarice stayed glued to her side in order to act as a buffer in case of unwanted advances from some of the more savage women in the crowd. The blond looked around to see who was there to see the paintings and she was not surprised to see Sandro sulking in the corner over lack of inspiration. It was not common for artists to show up to their rivals exhibits, but Sandro made it a point to do so. He told her once that he did it to see what the competition was doing and how he could best them. However, he did not dare go up against the genius that was Leonardo da'Vinci.

"Good evening, Gonfaloniere." Someone said behind her as Lorenzo made his way to Clarice. She looked at Lorenzo who seemed to be recovering from Uberto's conversation with him.

"Good evening, I trust you are enjoying the show?" She listened to the conversation between Uberto and another nobleman as Lorenzo spoke to Clarice.

"I am, but the rumors that the Auditore boy is still out there has me a little unnerved." She heard the nobleman said.

"Not to worry, he will be caught and dealt with soon enough." Uberto said but Contessina kept herself in the group she was in until she caught a flash of white in the corner of her eye, then a light tap on her hip and the feeling of Ezio's hand slipping something into hers. She stopped paying attention to the conversation Uberto was having to look at what her husband slipped into her hand. It was a letter written on a small piece of paper that happened to have one of Leonardo's drawings on it. "YOU!"

Contessina turned around at the yell from Uberto as she saw Ezio move from the small crowd behind her towards the Gonfaloniere. She held her breath as he stepped closer to Uberto with a blade attached to his wrist. His father's blade. Contessina felt as though time had stopped when Ezio lunged forward and stabbed Uberto in the chest, then he did it again and again until Uberto could no longer gasp for breath himself or stand. Ezio laid the dying man down on the floor of the courtyard as Uberto said his last words.

"You would have done the same for the ones you love." The Gonfaloniere said.

"Yes, I would. And I have." Contessina watched as Ezio stood up and raised his voice. "The Auditore are not dead! I'm still here. Me! Ezio! Ezio Auditore!" He had done it. He had gotten his revenge on Uberto Alberti and now he was exiled from Firenze. Contessina could hear the word 'Assassino' being said from everyone around the courtyard as they stood back from the scene in front of them.

"Oh Ezio, what have you done?" She whispered before his eyes landed on her. She gave him a sad look as she mouthed 'run' to him and like that, he was running away as the guards came in to arrest him.

"Contessina!" Lorenzo pulled her to him and moved her out of the way as a guard came running at her. "We have to leave." He told his wife before escorting the two women out of the Santa Croce. She looked back as she saw Ezio running over the rooftops trying to get away from the guards as Lorenzo dragged her away. For once, her heart felt pained as she saw him for the last time.


	10. Forging Letters

**This chapter is going to have a lot of switching back and forth between Ezio and Contessina. It is an important chapter as far as their relationship goes and it is to help speed things up a little as far as timeline. Also, this chapter originally started out different, but the pacing was way slower, and I had a lot more trouble with it than I expected. This is an updated and more condensed version so if it seems a little weird, you know why. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone is still doing well! Enjoy! **

The chill of winter was still in Firenze when Giuliano returned from Roma with letters from Pope Sixtus. Contessina sat in Lorenzo's study as Giuliano produced a stack of letters full of intel from Roma and the Medici supporters there. She had a cup of wine in her hand as the brothers shifted through the pile on Lorenzo's desk looking for the one letter that mattered the most. The atmosphere of night made the room look like a scribe's place of worship, but she waited as they looked.

"Ah! Here it is." Giuliano said picking the large letter with the papal seal on it and a red ribbon tied around it. "Unopened as requested by the Pope." He walked over from the desk to hand it to the blond woman who was nervous at seeing what the pope decided her future was going to be. She looked up at Giuliano wondering if he understood her hesitance in grabbing the letter. "Don't worry, whatever it says we will deal with it." He offered her a hopeful smile before looking at his brother who was deep into his own letter.

"Let her open it, Giuliano." Lorenzo said with his face blocked by the letter he was reading.

Contessina slowly took the papal document from her cousin's hand and cracked the wax seal open before removing the red ribbon. She slowly opened it knowing that the vellum in her hands could possibly force her out of Firenze or it could officially make her capable of being a free woman again. Ezio's face flashed through her mind at the thought of divorcing him, but he also thought it a good idea, if only for her safety and that of Cammillia's. He had said as much in the tiny letter he had given her the day of Uberto Alberti's assassination. Contessina scanned over the document trying to understand the Latin that was written upon it in Sixtus' hand and then the translation done by one of his cardinals. Her heart sunk at what she read.

"This is what the pope thinks of us Medici." She said standing up and handing it to Lorenzo, who put the letter he was reading down to look at the document himself. "He would rather see me exiled from Firenze as well."

"He does not approve of the dispensation because you are married to a criminal still on the loose. Signed by his Holiness and the cardinal who translated, Rodrigo Borgia." Borgia? Why did the name sound so familiar? "Did Carlo send anything?" Lorenzo asked his brother.

"Si, he did." Giuliano pulled that letter from the inside of his doublet and handed it to Lorenzo. It did not take the older Medici man to open the letter and scan its contents after putting down the papal letter.

"Carlo will keep trying to persuade Sixtus for the dispensation, Contessina. For now, you must keep yourself confined to the Palazzo for your own safety." Lorenzo told the blond woman who stood up quickly.

"I refuse to be jailed, Lorenzo." She said walking to his desk and leaning over it to get the letter from the Vatican. "No one has to know about it right? They all believe the rumors to be true, so why not keep this charade going?" She could forge the handwriting on the document and make it official, but she would need help from a certain artist to help with getting the right ink. The Vatican used a special ink, not like the ink that Lorenzo used, no the ink was a mix of squid and charcoal. She smelled the vellum. It smelled of dried urine as well as the fragrance powder used to dry the ink. "I will be back." She said folding the letter up and putting it in the bust of her corset. "I have to visit a friend."

Ezio sat at the desk in the room at the top of Villa Auditore with a quill in his hand and paper in front of him. He had no idea what to write, but he knew he should. It had been a few days since his uncle found Ezio, his mother, and his sister on the road not too far away from Monteriggioni surrounded by Vieri de'Pazzi and his thugs. If it had not been for Mario, Ezio was not sure if they would all be safe and sound in the villa at that moment. What troubled him the most was the secret his father kept from him all of his life and he was just now knowing about it. How was he to understand it or accept it? Had Contessina known about this too? He doubted she knew as much as he did, but he did not know.

The young Auditore missed his wife. For once, he missed her presence because she made sense of things when he could not. Right now, he needed her to tell him what to do. Ezio was determined to leave as soon as possible, but his uncle insisted that he stay a little longer to learn how to defend himself. While Ezio felt improving his fighting skills would be beneficial to protecting his mother and sister, he did not want to stay longer than he needed to. There lied the problem.

He would give anything then and there to have Contessina come up the stairs and say his name. Anything to have her give him some advice, but she was in Firenze taking care of Cammillia while making sure his niece or nephew came into the world kicking and screaming. The thought of another Auditore being born soon was one to rejoice over, but the saddest part was that Federico would not be there to hold his child for the first time. All that child would have was an uncle with a talent for revenge to act as a father figure. If that. Ezio was not sure how to be any sort of a father figure to anyone, but he would try.

"Ezio!" Claudia's voice interrupted his thoughts as she came up the ladder. "Zio Mario is asking for you before you decide to retire." She said as she made it up to see him with the tip of the feather on his lips. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to write, but I have nothing." He said staring off into the distance. "Who knew composing a letter would be so hard."

"Is it to Contessina?" Claudia asked with a curious look on her face.

"Si, but I do not know what to say to her. I want to know if she is alright and safe, but I can't address it to her directly." He said looking at his sister. "It would put us all in danger if we were caught sending letters to each other."

"Ah, I see. Well, you could always make it sound like a love letter. No one wants to read a sappy love letter between a husband and wife." Claudia suggested with a sly smile on her face as she moved closer to the desk. "Here, I will write it for you." She plucked the quill out of his hand and pulled the piece of paper he was musing over from under his elbow.

"Claudia, she will know it is you writing it." The young man said as his sister gave him a snotty look. "Fine, address it to 'Giulia'."

"To my dearest Giulia." She said as she wrote out the words and then looked up for Ezio to say something, but he just leaned back in the chair and sighed. "I miss you so. The days since our departure has left me aching for your touch..." She said writing until Ezio grabbed the paper from her leaving a jagged line where the quill scratched into the medium. "Hey, that was not fair."

"I do not sound like that." He plucked the quill out of her hand and put it aside. "You can write her a letter if you wish but leave this one to me." He shooed his sister away.

"Fine. Next time you ask me for help, I'm just going to ignore you." She said walking away with her nose up in the air. Ezio rolled his eyes. He recalled her taking the quill and paper away from him first then taking over.

"Be careful going down the ladder, Claudia." He told her as she went down the ladder.

"If I want your concern, I'll ask for it." Came the bratty response from his sister. His wonderful, but very spoiled sister who had opinions for days on end. She could very well end up not finding a husband because of it.

He decided his uncle could wait as he readied a new sheet of paper before dipping the tip of the quill in the ink well. Ezio was no poet, but Claudia's idea was a good one and he would try. He may not be good with describing his feelings on paper, but he could tell a story. It may not be a good story, but it was the message he wanted to get across to her and for her to be able to send something back in the same manner so he could understand. Honestly, it was something Leonardo would suggest doing to keep their cover so Ezio began to write about a traveler on the rode to seek peace with a sultan.

Contessina knew it was late, but her task could not wait until the next day and she knew her friend would still be active. When she made it to his workshop, she knocked on the door with delicate taps before the heavy door opened. As she predicted her friend was still wide awake and dressed in his normal attire. Leonardo da'Vinci stood before her with confusion on his face as to why a young woman of her standing would be at his door in the middle of the night.

"Signora Contessina? What are you doing her at this hour?" He leaned over to look out of the door in case there were guards around watching his move, then when he saw no one he moved aside for her to go inside.

"I'm sorry Leonardo, but this could not wait." She said handing him the letter she had stuffed in her corset.

"Oh Mio Dio, this is upsetting." He said reading it and gave her a sad smile. "Does Ezio know?"

"Of course, he does. The idea was to make it appear as though we are divorcing, but as you can see that plan backfired and now, I need your help." She took off her cloak and set it down on the back of a chair before grabbing an empty cup of wine and filling it with the sweet red substance in the bottle next to it.

"I don't know what you are asking me to do here, Contessina." He looked at her with a confused expression before pouring himself a cup. "Wait a moment, are you asking me to help you forge a papal document?"

"Si. Exactly." She smiled. "If the document is never seen the lawyers will grow suspicious, but if we hand them an official document with the approval of dispensation of marriage, then all will go according to plan."

"I do not know if the Devil himself could be as cunning as you are Contessina, but you are right." Leonardo said to her with a laugh. "Fine then, what do you need of me?"

"Can you make the ink that is used at Il Vaticano?" She asked him.

"Si, I can. The parchment is typical vellum, which is good, but the ink is specially made for his Holiness. I believe it is..."Contessina interrupted him.

"Squid ink, charcoal, and urea. The drying powder is made from chalk with ground rosemary." She said.

"How do you know such things?" Leonardo asked her astonished at the knowledge she had about the papal ink.

"My Uncle Carlo. When I was in Roma a couple summers ago, he gave me a small bottle of it as a late birthday gift. I hate the smell of it, and I do not understand why the Pope would use an ink that smells so horrid." Contessina told him with a scrunched-up nose just remembering the smell of the document. It did not make any sense to her other than to identify the letters from the Pope as official. The handwriting was not a problem for her, and she could copy both styles without issue. The Latin may be a little difficult because she could not read it well, but she could do it. "Now, do you think you can have the ink ready by tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes, if you can pay me for the materials, I can have it done in no time at all." He gave her a smile as she took the document back from him. "I would buy them for you, but I am still working on that commission."

"It is not problem, Leonardo. Just tell me how much you need, and I will be back in the morning." Contessina told him as he pulled out his little book of sketches and lists.

"Well, the squid ink is likely going to be costly and of course the chalk. I have enough charcoal to spare and the urea, well...that is free." He coughed knowing that the process of obtaining urea was a natural function of the body. "The rosemary will need to be dried and a doctor should have a good supply of that. I would say twenty florins for all of it?"

"That is expensive, but if I am to succeed, it is worth the price. I am sure you have a sheet or two of Vellum parchment around here somewhere." Contessina said looking around his workshop at the stacks of loose paper that littered the desks.

"Of course, I just have to remember where I put them." Leonardo grinned sheepishly as he realized he was very unorganized in that moment. "But this will not be a problem. I'm sure with the two of us together we can make this document look like a fraud and ours will be the real one."

"Of course, but it has to be done quickly. The lawyers will know that Giuliano is back in Firenze tomorrow." She told her friend slightly worried that Lorenzo's lawyer would come to the door first thing in the morning.

"Do not worry Contessina, I believe everything will work out smoothly." He put a hand on her shoulder. "You must get home though. People will talk if they see you leaving here in the middle of the night."

Contessina did not protest this so she bid the artist farewell with a hug and put her cloak on before quietly heading out the door. She carefully navigated the streets back to the Palazzo Medici where she entered through the gardens going straight into the atrium where Giuliano sat on the stairs. He was lounging there with a cup of wine in his hand and his shirt open as usual.

"Well?" He said as he took a sip of wine. "Did Leonardo da'Vinci agree to help you forge a papal document?"

"He did. How did you know that was where I was going?" She said taking off her cloak and draping it over her arm before going to sit down next to Giuliano.

"I know you, Contessina. I know who your friends are, and I know exactly what you have planned." There was no denying this so Contessina sighed as Giuliano gave her the look he gave someone when he knew their game. "Come on, who taught you how to be sneaky in the first place?"

"I see your point, Giuliano, but you can't take all the credit. Some of it is raw talent." She leaned against him with a smile on her face at his hurt look.

"My dear, dear cousin. What am I going to do with you?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "Don't ever leave me alone with these boring Medici family members."

"At some point I will have to leave." Contessina said sadly, but then she looked to her cousin's face. "But until then, maybe you can teach me how to defend myself." Giuliano gave her a surprised look before thinking about it.

"Si, I can do that." He looked around to make sure no one else was in hearing distance. "But we have to be quiet about it." Then he stood up. "We will have to go outside the city so no one will suspect anything."

"Because women can't fight." She nodded in understanding.

"Well, not only that, but your mother would have a heart attack if she knew and I don't want to be on the receiving end of her cane." Giuliano winked as he held a handout to her. "For now, we have to be secretive about it." He sounded excited about this and she wondered if he had been waiting for her to ask him about this for a long time now.

"Of course." Contessina allowed him to pull her up to her feet. "When shall we start?"

"After this business with the papal letter. I know you need to concentrate on that for right now." Giuliano told her before kissing the side of her head. "Goodnight, Contessina." He walked upstairs leaving her to think on everything that had happened in the last few minutes. To be honest, she was excited herself because she would finally be learning something useful besides the mundane chores that most women did. She smiled and wished she could tell Ezio everything that was going on in that moment, but he was not there.

Morning in Monteriggioni was dull and grey unlike in Firenze. The small town was actually part of the Republic of Siena, which explained the back and forth nature of its dealings with Firenze. Ezio stood looking out the window as he held onto the letter, he wrote the night before while waiting for the courier to come into the sleepy town. While Monteriggioni had its charms, it did not compare to the rest of the towns that dotted the landscape of Toscana.

The young man watched as a courier on horseback came riding through the gates and up to the base of the Villa's foundation where he handed the reins of the horse to a mercenary. Ezio wasted no time in putting on his boots while not bothering to tuck his shirt in the process before running out of the room. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could when he saw the courier come into the villa.

"Nipote, slow down." Mario Auditore laughed as the young man came to a sliding stop on the marble floor. "What is the rush?"

"I did not want to miss the courier." The younger Auditore said catching his balance and his breath. "I have a letter that needs to go to Firenze." The courier and Mario chuckled at the young man in front of them. "What?"

"You are not the first man to come running up to me with a letter for their girl." The older man with the leather pouch on his shoulder said putting a hand on Ezio's shoulder with a chuckle. "Give me the letter and I will make sure it is delivered to your girl."

"It goes to the Palazzo Medici, give it to Giulia." Ezio said handing the man the letter carefully.

"A Medici? Mario, this boy is in over his head." The courier laughed which agitated Ezio in a way he never thought he would be.

"No, he isn't, he married the girl." Ezio's uncle said with a smile on his face. "She is quite the beauty with long golden hair, or so I've been told."

"You must be speaking of Contessina, surely you jest?" The man asked looking back to Ezio. "I remember her very well. I was bringing letters to Il Magnifico for her hand in marriage every other week. Now I know why they stopped coming." The man said with awe in his voice.

"Come Riccardo, let us talk in my study for a few moments before you leave." Mario grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him away from the young Auditore who seemed to be simmering underneath.

"For what it is worth Signore Auditore, Contessina de'Medici is a good and pure woman, keep her close." Riccardo said with a sincere smile as he looked back to Ezio. "I will make sure this letter makes it into Giulia's hands."

"Grazie, Signore." Ezio bowed his head in thanks to the man as he was left in the hall alone with thoughts of Contessina running through his head. Over the two days that she helped him in Firenze, he had found he could not have made it through without her. At first he had wanted more than anything to run to Cristina, but Contessina was able to do more for him than the other woman could just by giving him the encouragement he needed and a place to unburden himself of his emotions. Because of this, he held her on a higher pedestal than Cristina and he did not feel guilty over it. Ezio was surprised by this and he ran his hands through his hair in realization. He was starting to see Contessina as something more than a friend now.

In the afternoon, Contessina found herself sitting at a desk in Leonardo's workshop with a blank vellum parchment and the original papal document next to one another. Leonardo had mixed the ink for her already, but the smell was terrible. She tried hard not to gag at the scent that hit her nose, however she had no choice; she had to complete the letter. She began with Latin, or what she could understand of it with Leonardo's help. She took great care in following the arch and curve of the handwriting on the original document. It took her nearly two hours before the Latin was written with the message of annulment being approved in a way that would not give away that the new document was a fake.

"And now for Rodrigo Borgia's handwriting." She said looking at Leonardo for a moment. Daylight was at an end, but this part would be easier since it was in her mother tongue and Borgia's penmanship was rather easy to pen with its long arches and swooping curves indicative of Spanish origin.

Another hour later and Contessina looked upon her handiwork with pride. Now all she had to do was remove the seal from the original document and place it on the new one, which was very easy to do. All she needed was a candle to heat the wax then remove it carefully before placing it on the folded vellum that contained the fresh writing. Once the deed was done, the ribbon was fixed to the new document before she gave the old one to Leonardo.

"Could you keep this hidden for me? Just in case I may need it for something else later. No one must find it Leonardo." She told the artist.

"It will be safe with me, Contessina." He bowed when he took the original parchment from her. "I hope this works."

"It will as there is only four people who know about this forgery." Contessina smiled at her friend before leaving his workshop.

Lorenzo did not know if he should be angry or impressed at Contessina's bold move of forging a papal document with a different message than intended. She could tell by the look on his face when he dropped the letter on the desk in front of him and he gave her a blank stare. The blond almost feared the worst from her cousin while Giuliano stood next to the fireplace with his arm resting on the mantle. Contessina watched as Lorenzo clasped his hands together in front of his mouth thinking about how he should respond to this act of treason against the Pope, but as far as she was concerned, Sixtus was on his way out of the position.

"Of all the foolish things to do, Contessina, you chose to do the worst." Lorenzo put his hands down on the desk and looked up at her with a glare. "Forging?"

"Lorenzo...I" She stopped immediately when he held his hand up.

"Forging as a practical joke is one thing, but this?" He picked up the letter she forged. "This borders on treason and I cannot believe you thought this was a way out!" He raised his voice at her.

"Lorenzo, she is only trying to do what she thinks is right." Giuliano said but his brother glared at him as well knowing that he had a small part to play in all of this.

"Do not make excuses for her, Brother. She knows what she has done, and she is very lucky I do not send her away." The older Medici said walking up to Contessina with a deep frown on his face. "You better hope our lawyers accept this because I cannot protect you from the law after this."

"Lorenzo, I did it to..." She was interrupted again.

"To serve your own needs. This was reckless, foolish, and... very good work." He told her as he calmed a little. "You do have a talent for forging, but do not let it become a habit. In the meantime, while the lawyers debate over this, you will be confined to the Palazzo."

"For how long?" Contessina asked her cousin in shock. There was no telling why Lorenzo thought to keep her pinned up like an animal, but she knew it had to do with the rumors spreading around Firenze.

"I do not know, but you have made it difficult for yourself Contessina. The lawyers will send letters to the Vatican for confirmation and when they realize you forged an official Papal document; it will not be in your interests to stay here." Lorenzo said making everything clear to Contessina. She had made a grave miscalculation on her part and now her cousin was going to have to clean up her mess. She sighed before sitting down in the chair.

"You could hold on to this for a while longer. Everyone knows dispensations take a while to complete so a few more months will not hurt." Giuliano said coming to Contessina's rescue once again. "Tell the lawyers His Holiness wishes to see Contessina in person to understand the need for her divorce from Ezio."

"Yes, I can go with Clarice on her yearly trip to Roma." Contessina sat up in her chair hearing the unfolding plan that they were trying to convince Lorenzo of. "After Cammillia has her child of course." She added not forgetting her responsibilities.

"I will think about it. Until I give you an answer, you will be confined to this Palazzo and if I do let you come and go, you will have an escort at all times." The head of the Medici family said before returning to his desk. "Do I make myself clear, Contessina?"

"Si, Lorenzo." She said before standing up with a frown on her face. She curtsied to her cousins before leaving the study in a frustrated state of mind.

If only Ezio were there with her.


	11. Giulia and Marcello

**Filler Chapter Alert! I do not normally do chapters like this, but I did not want to do this huge time jump with a lot of exposition in the next chapter so, you get this. A passing letters back and forth chapter! I will take my lickings here and now. With that said, this is a slow chapter. I mean sloooow, but again, definitely a sacrifice I have to make in order to save a lot of exposition in the next chapter. I am repeating myself now…wonderful.**

**Anyway, how are ya'll doing? Still hanging in there? Still have Toilet Paper? Bene. Just know that you guys are on my mind through these crazy times. **

The letter came the morning after Contessina had been told she could not leave the Palazzo Medici without an escort. One of the servant girls handed it to the blond as she descended the stairs for breakfast and she immediately knew who it was from. Contessina knew Ezio's just as well as her own and the way he dotted the 'i's was something unique to him alone. Instead of just giving the 'i' a small dab, it was more akin to a dash that curled up on the end. Ezio had done this ever since he was a child when they left clues for each other in their games.

Looking at the letter addressed to 'Giulia', the blond decided to forego breakfast to go sit in the garden. She was glad she did because the birds were singing quite loud, which meant spring was well on its way. The air was much sweeter than usual as the fragrance of roses and lilies traveled on the breeze. The warmth of the sun felt wonderful on her face giving her that wonderful feeling of a soon to come spring.

Contessina sat on the grass in the middle of the garden with her dress fanned out around her before she took the time to break the wax seal on the envelope. Ezio had taken care to fold the paper just right and precisely as she expected him to. Thankfully, the medium which the words were written on was paper, which did more to lift her spirits. The ink did not have a terrible smell either, but she was not worried about that. What she was worried about was the contents of the letter. Two pages of words that she was excited to read for some unknown reason.

_"Dearest Giulia," It_ began with neat handwriting.

_"I am sorry for the late tidings, but there were things that could not be helped. On my journey to meet the Sultan, I stopped at a local village full of dreary people. Among them was a distant relative that I had not seen in a long time. So long, that I had not recognized him. He was kind enough to offer my associates and I a place to stay until our journey could resume to the east. _

_The small village we are staying in is not as lively as home. The people are quaint, sturdy, and cautious of outsiders, but they seem to have taken to us well enough. The village itself is drab and in need of repair, especially the villa at the top of the hill, but it is homely. Our host has been generous enough to let me stay as long as I need to, but I fear we must be traveling soon before the rain sets in. I would hate to keep a Sultan waiting. _

_How is your sister? Is she faring well in her troubles? I know with the loss of her husband it has been hard, but the promise of new life gives me hope that she will make it through. I wish I could be there to see that new life, but this journey will last a lot longer than I anticipated. I hear of plots back in Firenze, but little word is spread this far away from home. Of course, news travels slower outside of the walls of Firenze. Perhaps you can tell me of these 'rumors' when you write to me again. _

_Last but not least, Giulia, I miss you. Your companionship and guidance, I do miss it more than I thought I ever could. Maybe it is wishful thinking, but I should have asked you to go with me, but you are right. This journey is for me to take and until my destination is reached, I will remind myself of why you chose not to come with me. You have been encouraging, steadfast, and willfully stubborn, but I believe that is what I like the most about you. If we had never met, I do not know where I would be right now. That is something to think of later. _

_I must go now. I am being summoned to take part in a drinking game of some sort with my traveling companions. I can still outdrink them, even though the last time I became intoxicated I almost kissed a horse. I am sure you remember that incident. _

_Your friend,_

_Marcello" _

Contessina read over the letter two more times trying to understand what exactly Ezio was telling her. It was not a code, but more of a story to explain where he was. She could not say she did not love the idea of him using the narrative that he presented, but it was all he could do to make the letters as secretive as possible. For the most part, she gathers that he had made it to Monteriggioni with his mother and Claudia. The long-lost relative he wrote of was definitely his uncle and from what she understood was Ezio wanted her to write him back. She turned over the paper and found a small bird that he had drawn on the back.

Ezio could draw, but he was not very refined in the area as Leonardo or Sandro. He did it mainly to pass the time or put thoughts onto paper, which was something he had also done since they were children. Sometimes she found his drawings to be comical and other times they were serious, either way they were idle sketches. She closed her eyes and smiled feeling a warmth blossom in her chest at the story Ezio was telling. She wanted to send a letter back to him as soon as possible, so she stood up before running back into the Palazzo and up the stairs to her room.

Closing the door, she went to her small desk where she had stationary set up and a bottle of normal ink sitting there waiting for her along with a quill. As soon as her quill touched the paper, her mind went blank. What was she going to say to Ezio? Besides telling him about the rumors in Firenze, what else was there to write about? Tapping the soft end of the swan feather quill to her lips she thought for a moment before she finally put something down in writing.

"_Marcello,_" She began.

_"I am very happy to hear from you! I did not think I was going to get a letter from you so soon, but I am very surprised. I know that you may not get this letter for some time and that is entirely out of my control, but I have a confession to make. I do not remember that time you nearly kissed a horse, but I do remember the time where you had a very interesting conversation with a duck. This was before the duck was killed, plucked, and eaten for dinner. Of course, we were only twelve summers old then, so I suppose this could be forgiven. _

_As for the 'rumors' you are hearing so far away from home, I think they may be a little out of touch. First off, the Pazzi have been quiet lately. I do not know if it has anything to do with the recent executions in Firenze, but something tells me they are not finished with the Medici just yet. Although, I did hear that Vieri de'Pazzi has been causing trouble in Toscana, most likely he is after that Auditore boy. I also hear that Contessina de'Medici is divorcing said Auditore boy, but I cannot be sure as it is just a rumor that the ladies spread. I do feel for the girl though. She must be all alone. _

_On that subject, I have made a few new friends. One in particular who is willing to help me learn some new skills, but I will not bore you with the details. My cousin has also decided that I should be watched everywhere I go because I accidentally stumbled across something that could do me more harm than good, which I will have to tell you about later. For now, just rest assured that I am in no danger. _

_As for my sister, her belly grows bigger every day and soon my mother will have her entombed in her room. I do not understand why the need for 'lying in' when a woman is about to give birth, but I hear it has everything to do with ensuring a healthy child. I do not see how limiting sunlight, praying non-stop, and hanging tapestries all over one's room ensures the birth of a healthy child? My mother says the tapestries will encourage positive thoughts and help determine the gender of the child, which I do not believe in the slightest. Mio Dio, I am probably boring you with all this talk of childbirth. _

_This letter is likely getting too long and I'm sure you have better things to do than to read my ramblings on paper. Although, I am glad you miss me. We make quite the pair you and I, always have, but the last time we were apart like this was...when my cousin took me to Roma. I miss you too, Marcello. Perhaps one day we can meet again, and I can give you a proper embrace. _

_Giulia"_

The letter Contessina had sent Ezio had arrived almost two weeks after he sent the first one. Two weeks of arguing with his uncle overstaying in Monteriggioni and then finally relenting to learning some combat. As much as Ezio wanted to deny it, everything he was learning about his father was making sense, and the only way he could accept it was to write to Contessina, or rather, Giulia.

He sat down at the desk in the top floor of the villa late at night with a few candles lit on the desk as he began to write. Contessina would understand his feelings more than anyone else at this point and maybe she could give him insight into what to do about the situation. Perhaps she could comfort him through her words as she always seemed to do.

_"Giulia,_

_It seems my journey has stalled. For reasons unknown to me the Sultan has denied any entry into his kingdom for an unknown amount of time. I am frustrated by this, but I have learned a great deal about the Sultan and his people while staying in this tiny village. Some of the things I've learned does not make any sense. I only thought of it as one thing, but now I am being told it is another and completely different to what I believed before. I am not sure if I can truly believe it, however, our host has decided to teach us a little more about defending ourselves. I am aware I am not the greatest swordsman, but I think I can hold my own well enough. _

_How wrong I was, Giulia. _

_Thankfully, I am a quick learner and from what my host tells me 'a talented individual'. He clearly has the wool pulled over his eyes, so to speak. Perhaps you can help me on this Giulia. I am at a crossroads and I need your guidance, no matter how long it takes to hear from you. Do I continue to move on when the Sultan gives us permission to enter his kingdom? Or do I stay where I am and learn as much as I can? You have always been honest with me, so I ask you this in confidence. I know what I should do, but I do not know if it is the right choice. _

_As for the Auditore boy, as you say, I was not aware he was being hunted outside of Firenze. I heard that his family had been destroyed and he had fled somewhere in Toscana, but other than that, there is not much else to know. _

_It is good to know that your sister is doing well though. I look forward to hearing about her child when it is born. Between you and me, I think it will be a boy. I am willing to bet on it. Although, with my luck at gambling I think I should also place a bet if it is a girl too. It is getting late and there is plenty for me to do in the morning. I look forward to your next letter, Giulia._

_Marcello" _

Contessina read the last line before putting the letter down on the desk in front of her. There was a pile of letters to read that Volpe's thieves had brought her throughout the weeks. Somehow, Ezio's letter had gotten mixed in with them and it was only now that she had come across it. The blond felt guilty because now he was waiting for her reply on what seemed like an important matter. That important matter had everything to do with what Giovanni Auditore did in the darkness.

Taking out a sheet of paper she began to write back to Ezio, but as soon as she was halfway through, someone knocked at her door. Sighing, she got up from her desk and went over to the heavy door before opening it to reveal Cammillia. Now in her seventh month of pregnancy, she looked exhausted, but overall, she looked fine.

"Your mother wants to start my confinement tomorrow." The red head said as Contessina moved to the side for her to enter. "Two months of lying in bed in a dark room surrounded by heavy tapestries and religious memorabilia. How am I going to survive?" Cammillia said sitting on Contessina's bed.

"You know that is what all women go through in the last months." And Contessina dreaded it for herself. She dreaded the thought of carrying a child within her just as much. "I don't like it either." The blond said sitting down on the bed next to her friend.

"To be honest, I cannot wait until he is out of me. I want to see his face." She grabbed Contessina's hand and squeezed it. "I want to see if he looks like his father."

"Are you sure it is a boy?" The younger woman asked.

"I am. I can feel it." Cammillia smiled as they sat together. Contessina felt discontent in that moment because there was one person missing and he had written her a letter.

"I hope it is a boy too." She leaned her head on Cammillia's shoulder. "That way the Auditore will live on."

"Speaking of the Auditore. Have you heard from Ezio?" The older woman asked.

"I have. I was replying to his letter when you came in." Contessina sighed. "He learned the truth about Giovanni, and he isn't sure if he wants to believe it or not." The blond said moving from the bed to the chair at her desk.

"What is the truth then?" The red head asked wanting to know what Contessina thought.

"I am not sure, he cannot tell me outright and I have my theories, but I don't know if they are right." She picked the letter from 'Marcello' up from her desk and handed it to Cammillia for her to read. "In any case, it is for Ezio to tell us when we finally see him again." She said before she continued to write.

"Who knows when that will be. It looks like he is staying in Monteriggioni for a while before going to Spain." Cammillia said as she read the letter. "This may be a blessing in disguise."

"It could be." Contessina hoped her letter would get through to Ezio in some way or another. She turned back to her writing as Cammillia laid down on the bed with a large sigh. Contessina gave her a tiny laugh knowing that the poor woman was exhausted from carrying her child already.

_"Marcello,_

_I am sorry for the late reply to your letter. It seems your letter was lost in a stack of other letters sent to me from a friend and his associates. Do not worry though, I put quill to paper as soon as I finished reading and, here we are. _

_I wish I could tell you what you want to hear, but I do not believe in being false. Learn as much as possible so that when the time comes to move on you will have the knowledge to use. Open your mind to the possibility that everything you know is going to change for the rest of your life. At least, that is how I look at my situation. I am not sitting here in stasis while you are marching across the world and I refuse to accept being locked up in a palazzo all day either. Life is short, Marcello, you of all people should know this by now. Do not waste it by running away from your problems but embracing them and doing something to solve them. I cannot be any clearer than that, mi amico. You asked me for guidance, and this is what I have to say. _

_For the possibility of entering the Sultans kingdom, I believe he is testing you. The Sultan is wondering how far you are willing to go to meet him, or if you are worthy of meeting him. If he thinks that way you may as well stay where you are. An Emperor or a Sultan...does not make a difference... who believes he is above the common man is not worth speaking with. His mind is already filled with his own importance rather than the love and safety of his people. The leader who can sit amongst his people and take their thoughts into consideration is an interesting person. I would love to speak with someone who can be on my plain of Earth. _

_I am in no way telling you what you should do, Marcello, only give you the words you wish me to write. You are the one that has to make the choice at the end of the day, and I cannot stop you from making it. Perhaps this is why we make such a good pair. I am a genius, and you...well, Marcello, you are the brash one. Not that there is anything wrong with being brash, but sometimes you do not think before taking action and I have to come in to save you from yourself. I cannot begin to count the number of times you got us both in trouble when we were children and let us hope that the cycle does not repeat itself with future generations. _

_If I do not hear from you, I expect it is because you are still pondering what must be done. Marcello, please do not spend your thoughts worrying about me or my sister. We will be fine. I will send you a letter the moment her child is born and give you the good tidings. She will be going into her confinement tomorrow for the next two months at least so I will not have time to write you until the baby is born. Please know that you are on my mind often and that I do wish you could be here with us in this upcoming joy. _

_Ciao, _

_Giulia"_

Ezio grunted in frustration as he read over Contessina's letter a second time. She was trying to be helpful, but at the same time she was also being very vague which only led to the young man throwing the apple he was eating against the wall in irritation. Of course, he understood that she was not to blame for that annoyance; she was in Firenze and he was being cautious. Perhaps his caution was unwarranted because she had given him no indication that their letters were being read, but still, it was better safe than sorry.

He sat there on the floor of Mario's study with his back against the wall and a small pile of books at his side. Ezio had spent hours looking through them after he read Contessina's letter the first time. Now his eyes were dry from all the reading he had done and the only thing he had to eat all day was sitting at the base of the wall opposite to him. It was late afternoon because the light was coming in from the west, which mean dinner would be served soon. Ezio did not feel like getting up though. He felt empty for lack of a better word. Not because of Contessina, but because of the truth.

His father was an Assassin. He could not believe it at first, but as he read through books filled with stories of men dressed in white changing the course of history, he began to believe it. Just like Contessina had told him, it was better to accept something than to resist it. That did not make the empty feeling go away though. That feeling came with the knowledge that Giovanni Auditore and his sons were killed because they were a threat to someone. Ezio had been lucky to escape that fate, yet he anguished day and night over it. As he thought about his wife's words, he started to realize that she made more sense than he did.

Contessina was telling him to move forward instead of sitting in the past waiting for redemption. Ezio could not stand around any longer. Once his training with Mario was complete, he would take his mother and sister to Spain where no one could find them. Then, he would send for Contessina and Cammillia. They could all be safe together in Spain where he and Contessina could maybe live life together. It was a very noble thought at least.

"What are you doing on the floor, Nipote?" Mario interrupted his thoughts when he entered the room.

"Learning something new as my wife suggested." Ezio held up the letter in his hand. "She tells me I am hardheaded and brash sometimes."

"Are you?" His uncle asked. Ezio thought about it for a second and could confirm that he definitely was hardheaded and brash.

"It depends on my mood." He said standing up and brushing himself off before moving to pick the apple he threw off the floor. "She is more stubborn than I am."

"She is a Medici, I'm afraid that comes with the territory." Mario said with a laugh as he sat down at his desk. "Don't let her fool you though. My contact in Firenze tells me she is very talented in forging letters. So talented she is confined to the Palazzo Medici for the time being." Ezio gave his uncle a look of shock as he walked up to the desk. "Oh, you didn't know?"

"I knew she had been confined, but not the reason for her confinement." The young man said putting the apple down on the desk. "She is very vague in her letters for a reason."

"According to my contact who has direct knowledge, she forged a papal document in hopes to stall the divorce." Mario pulled a letter from his drawer and handed it to Ezio for him to read.

"_I do not know how she did it, but Contessina was able to forge a papal document. She even copied the handwriting of Rodrigo Borgia and Sixtus. From what she tells me, Sixtus declined the dispensation because of her husband's criminal status. It sounds like they are using her as bait, my friend. I will continue to keep an eye on her because she is proving to be an asset for us. I hear Lorenzo keeps her confined to the Palazzo because of this. I am wondering if she should leave Firenze as soon as possible." _

"I don't know who is the stupid one now, me or her." Ezio said handing the letter back to his uncle before running a hand through his hair. "She's been forging signatures and letters since we were children. She did it because it was entertaining to see Lorenzo send letters with insults on them rather than business."

"Forging a letter from the pope is difficult. For her to be able to copy two different styles of writing in two different languages and being able to do it in the ink that the Vatican uses is no easy feat. She has done something that some of us can only dream of in my profession." Mario told his nephew with a hint of jealousy towards Contessina in his voice. "That woman is priceless, and our enemies will soon find out about her talent."

Ezio was sure that the term 'priceless' was used genuinely, but he thought otherwise. What on Earth was he going to do with her? She made the whole situation worse by forging that letter and now there was a possibility he could lose her too if someone found out. What would he do then?

"Perhaps I should have her sent here?" Ezio asked but Mario shook his head. "Why not?"

"She is safe as long as she is in Firenze with her family. Lorenzo de'Medici will not let any harm come to her." The older man said leaning against his desk.

"What about the Pazzi? They will be looking to settle the score with the Medici." Ezio elaborated.

"I doubt they will harm a woman." Mario said before standing up. "Come, let us talk about this another time. Tomorrow we will train again and then we will discuss what to do with Contessina." He told his nephew coming around the desk and grabbing his shoulder. "She will be alright for now." Ezio was not so sure and now he was worried.


	12. In the Darkness

**Good Evening! How are you? Doing well in the madness, I hope. I am currently homebound, and the cases are mounting up where I live as well as in Europe. Keep everyone affected in your thoughts guys, they could use the hope. **

**Anyway, I rewrote this chapter a couple times before posting it because I did not like what I had originally wrote. This is not a filler chapter. It has a purpose. We will get to see a familiar face in this chapter…keep in mind, this character is a good ten years younger than Ezio and Contessina (she is a few months older than Ezio with her birthday being March 15****th****) so enjoy the cuteness. **

The sound of wood hitting wood could be heard at the small group of trees outside of Firenze where a man and woman were practicing sword fighting. The woman was slower than the man in her reactions to his swings, but overall, he thought she was doing well. Nearby, their horses were tied in the shade to keep them cool while they were able to stand and rest. The blond woman wore brown trousers with a linen shirt and her riding boots as she worked hard to keep up with her opponents moves.

"You are getting good at this." Giuliano said as Contessina blocked his swing and pushed his wooden sword away from her. "Who knew only a few weeks ago you could barely stand on your own two feet."

"And who knows Giuliano, I may be able to knock you off yours in a few weeks more." She said with a cocky smile before swinging back at him only for her sword to be knocked out of her hand.

"Right, well, when that happens you can be sure that Lorenzo will be the one to avenge me." He held the point of his sword at her chin. "Until then, you are still not that great." He said with a wink while she caught her breath.

"Not if I hide your body first." She said picking up her sword and hitting it against Giuliano's as quick as she could.

"Are you threatening me?" He said as he blocked her attack and held her there. "That sounds like a threat. Maybe I should let you walk home."

"And have Lorenzo yell at you for leaving me alone?" Contessina said grunting as she pushed her weight against him.

"I can always say you've been kidnapped by a band of misfits. I'm sure you would fit right in with them." Giuliano did not blink. He had her attention long enough to put his right leg behind her left and pull her stance apart. She yelped as she fell backwards onto the green grass and dropped her sword. "Lesson number eighty-seven, don't have a conversation while fighting." He laughed at her when she looked up at him. He held out his hand to her.

"Yes, I know." She sighed sitting up and taking his hand to let him pull her up to her feet. "Because it distracts, but you can use it to your advantage." She dusted herself off before picking up her sword again.

"Right. Only if you can get your opponent riled up enough by taunting them. The objective, Contessina, is to let their cockiness be their downfall." Giuliano pointed his sword at her again.

"Unless you are Lorenzo." Contessina said with a sly smirk as she readied herself again for an advance from Giuliano.

"Yes, unless you are Lorenzo who does not know how to smile." Giuliano took a high guard and swiped down at Contessina. She was barely able to move backwards out of the way when he went to thrust at her, however she was able to spin herself to miss being 'impaled' by the wooden sword. "Very good." He told her as she came back to block him again. She looked down when she felt something poking her in the flank to see Giuliano holding a stick he had picked up earlier like a dagger. "But not good enough." He chuckled as he put his sword down and tossed the stick aside.

"That was really dirty, Giuliano." Contessina said as her cousin sat down in the grass to take a break. "I thought we Medici are supposed to fight with honor and dignity?"

"Your enemy is not always going to fight with honor Contessina. Sometimes they fight dirty too, and you have to be prepared for their tricks. Sometimes fighting with honor will get you killed." He said laying on his back as she sat down beside him wondering what was going to happen next.

"So, you are saying that I should fight dirty then?" Contessina asked him as she began to play with the blades of grass at her sides.

"No, only when you have to." Giuliano sighed as he looked at the sky above them. "We should go home, but I don't feel like it."

"It is getting late." The blond said feeling like it was getting close to midafternoon. "We've been gone since this morning."

"I suppose you are right. Lorenzo will send someone to find us if we don't make our presence known to him before the Sun sets." The man said sitting up and then standing. "Be glad you do not have a brother like him Contessina."

"It's bad enough I have to live in the same house as the both of you." She teased as he pulled her up from where she sat. The cousins picked up the wooden swords before moving to where their horses were tied. "You are a practical joker while Lorenzo..."

"Has a post up his ass." Giuliano said with annoyance in his voice.

"I was going to say stoic and closed off, but that works too I suppose." She said as they reached their horses. "I'm going to tell Lorenzo you said that." Contessina untied the rope that she had her horse tethered to and then climbed on the mare's back.

"You wouldn't dare." Giuliano did the same.

"You are going to have to stop me!" She kicked the grey mare into a gallop towards the gates of Firenze. She looked back to see if Giuliano was behind her and she laughed when she saw him fighting with his red stallion before the horse finally listened. She looked back ahead as she galloped with a laugh at Giuliano's expense. Contessina reached Firenze's gate in no time at all before slowing down and giving the mare a pat on her sweaty neck in appreciation. "Good girl."

"I suppose the race is over then, Signora Contessina?" One of Volpe's thieves met her at the gate with a grin on his face.

"That it is. What is it Matteo?" The young woman asked the thief.

"La Volpe would like to speak with you tonight in the Merchant Square if you are able." The young thief said.

"Si, I will be there." She said before kicking her horse into a trot as Giuliano caught up to her. "Having an argument with that devil again?" She asked him as the stallion wanted to prance the whole way back home.

"If he wasn't such a good jousting horse, I would have sent him to the breeders already, but he is steadily getting on my nerves." He jerked the stallion's reins to make the horse pay attention.

"Maybe that is his problem. It is the season for breeding, why not try to get a few good colts off of him?" She reached over to pet the red stallions face as he tried to nip the mare on the neck. "I know someone who would love one of his colts."

"He has a few offspring out there already, but from what I hear they are fire breathing dragons instead of wild horses." Giuliano said with a chuckle as the stallion hopped underneath him in protest of being held back. "Come, let's go home, I am tired of fighting with this...dragon."

When Contessina entered the atrium of the Palazzo after taking care of the mare, she could hear Lorenzo yelling in his study, and it drew her attention. She quietly walked up to the door to try and hear what he was yelling about only for the door to suddenly open and a young man walked out with a red face followed by an older man who seemed just as upset. There was an atmosphere of trouble that came from the room as she could hear Lorenzo pacing back and forth.

"To think they could stoup this low and try to take over San Gimignano!" She could hear Lorenzo's angry tone as he threw something across the room. The sound of the object hitting the stone wall and then falling to the floor made Contessina wonder what on Earth happened for him to be this angry. "Francesco and Jacopo de'Pazzi have returned to Firenze leaving Vieri stationed at San Gimignano."

"They have grown bold. Who knows what else they are planning."? The voice of Bernardo Machiavelli said in response. Contessina was about to move away when she turned to see a boy standing there. He was maybe seven years old and looked exactly like Bernardo.

"Who are you?" He asked her and she smiled.

"I am Contessina, and you?" The blond could not help but to admire his serious tone.

"Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, Signora." Contessina watched as the little boy bowed to her with a formal greeting. She was impressed at his manners. "It is a pleasure." He walked up to her asking for her hand and she gave it to him willingly. "And an honor." He kissed the back of her hand and she giggled a little at the scene.

"Well, Messere Machiavelli, I am touched by your greeting. Would you like a sweet roll from the kitchen in reward?" Contessina could not help but to be sweet to the charismatic little boy who acted older than he was. She could see him growing into a very wise man one day.

"Si, signora. I accept your offer, but you must tell me why you are wearing men's clothing." The boy asked as he held on to her hand. "I thought you were a man, then I saw your face and realized you were not a man."

"Well, if you can keep a secret, Niccolò, I will tell you all about my adventures today." She said before she heard the door opening further as Lorenzo and Bernardo stepped out into the atrium.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait for another time Signora Contessina." Bernardo told her as he walked over to greet her. "Unfortunately, I must bring Niccolò home to his mother."

"Oh, well then I suppose the sweet rolls will have to wait then." She leaned down to Niccolò. "And the stories." She winked at him before turning the boy lose to his father.

"Perhaps I will see you again Signora, someday soon." The boy said sadly before taking his father's hand.

"I would like that. Good day Messere Machiavelli." She curtsied to the attorney and then started to head up to her room to change. Contessina could see greatness in the boy just by the manner of his actions downstairs, but she knew that he was going to cross her path again. There was no doubt about it.

After dinner that night Contessina went up to her room to make ready for her disappearing act to the Merchant Square. This was not the first time she had snuck out of the Palazzo to meet with Volpe in order to get the letters back to him, but he wanted to speak to her for another reason. At first, she was hesitant to go out in the night on her own, but after the weeks went by, she was more comfortable with it. Especially since she had learned to defend herself. She put her boots on and took the stiletto knife Giuliano gave her for her birthday out from under the bed before sticking it into her boot. She changed from her evening dress into one of the wool dresses she kept for occasions such as this as it was easier to move in.

Putting her navy cloak on, she poked her head out of her door to make sure no one was awake before quietly leaving the room. She made sure to go down the concrete stairs that went to the atrium before sticking to the shadows to get to the garden. Contessina was able to make it to the garden without alerting anyone since Lorenzo kept the guards in the front of the Palazzo and not in the back. She sighed as she opened the gate quietly before going into the streets of Firenze.

The spring air was filled with the fragrances of jasmine and lavender that came from the stands near the market as she approached the quiet square. Most of the merchants had gone home for the night while the night watchmen were busy lighting torches in the streets. She was lucky that no one had noticed her as she went to stand by one of the columns that held up the bazaar. Sneaking around Firenze at night was not something a noblewoman did, but she was no ordinary noblewoman.

"Contessina." Someone whispered from the shadows across from where she stood. She looked to see Volpe standing in the shadow of one of the buildings that lined the square. She looked to see if any of the guards were around before making her way over to him in a hurry. "I had feared you were not going to come."

"I'm here and I brought you some of the letters you requested. I read through all of them, not one mentions anything about what the Pazzi has planned." She pulled the small stack of letters she had tied up with twine from the pouch at her hip. "I have forged some to send out via your messengers to the people listed in one of Giovanni's letters, but I am not sure this is going to work."

"It must. It has to. What else have you discovered?" Volpe pulled her along to walk with him after taking the stack of letters from her. Contessina sighed.

"Francesco de'Pazzi is back in Firenze. He and Jacopo both, but they left Vieri in San Gimignano to hold the town." Contessina told Volpe but he stopped short.

"Your information is a little late, Contessina." He told her grabbing on to her shoulder to stop her as well. "Vieri de'Pazzi was killed last night." Contessina's jaw dropped at the news. She felt a little surprised by the news and relieved at the same time because Vieri had been a thorn in her side just as much as the Auditore's. She did not feel sorry for him and she wanted to praise his killer.

"Who killed him?" She asked Volpe who chuckled before patting her shoulder and walking forward.

"Who do you think killed him, Contessina?" The master thief of Firenze asked her as she followed him down the street. She thought about who could have gotten close enough to Vieri de'Pazzi to kill the _stronzo _where he stood. She hoped the killer was able to do the same with the rest of the Pazzi family. Then it hit her.

"Ezio." She said to herself and her eyes widened in realization. Ezio decided to follow in Giovanni's footsteps after all it seemed and perhaps, he would continue to do so.

"Si, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, the Assassino as he is being called by Francesco de'Pazzi." Volpe told her as they walked. "Now, there is something we do need to discuss. With Francesco back in Firenze, I do not think it wise to meet here anymore. Instead I shall come to you at the Palazzo Medici and we will speak in the garden. It is better you stay there for your own safety, Contessina."

"I see. If that is what must be done, then so be it." She consented to his plan with a little hesitancy. "I must be going home then."

"Be careful, Contessina." He said grabbing her hand and kissing it in formality before letting her leave.

Even though it felt good to leave home without having an escort, she knew that Volpe was right. With the Pazzi and their conspirators in Firenze, it would be hard for her to not be attached to Ezio now. Not only had her husband taken the life of Uberto Alberti, but now he had killed his longtime rival Vieri. Two kills within months of each other and now if he were to continue tracking down the Pazzi, the list would grow. Contessina was not sure how she felt about her husband killing people, but ultimately, she was involved in his life now whether Ezio knew it or not.

It did not take her long to reach Palazzo Medici and when she did, she noticed something unusual. There were lights coming from the windows and it seemed that there was a commotion going on within the house itself. She quietly slipped into the gardens before she removed her boots and cloak to throw them behind the hedges before she sat down on the stone bench near the fountain. She knew that something was going on, so she laid down on her back looking up at the sky, pretending to be asleep as the door to the atrium opened.

"Contessina!" It was Lorenzo still in his robe and with a lantern in his hand. "Contessina!" He said as he roamed the garden before coming to a stop at where she laid. "There you are. Where have you been?" She opened her eyes groggily and moaned.

"Lorenzo? What is going on?" She said pretending to be sleepy and sat up with her hand rubbing her neck. "I couldn't sleep so I came out here to watch the stars. I guess I fell asleep."

"No time for words now, girl. Cammillia is in labor, come." He held out his hand to her and pulled her up from the bench before escorting her inside. No doubt that he was fooled by her acting as he had no idea, she had even left the Palazzo at all. She had to get to Cammillia as fast as she could though because she had promised to be there for the auburn-haired woman through her troubles.

"Move out of the way Lorenzo, I have to be there." She said moving ahead of the Medici patriarch and into the atrium before going to Cammillia's room. She wasted no time in opening the door with a gusto that had not been seen in ages. "Milia!"

"Calm down child, she has many hours to go yet." Ginevra said as she sat in the corner leaning against her cane. Contessina ignored her mother and went straight to her friends' side, grabbing the woman's hand.

"When they told me you weren't in your room, I knew you had gone out again." Cammillia whispered with a smile on her lips even though it was evident the woman was in a decent amount of pain. "I am told that I have a long way to go before my true pains start."

"I have to admit, Milia, this is the first birth I have ever attended. I was considered too young with the last one." Contessina did not really know what to expect when it came to childbirth. She knew that it was painful, but the pain was worth it, at least that is what most women told her. The blond was not ignorant, she knew the workings of her body and how children were born into the world, but she had never been allowed into the sacred world of a woman's confinement.

"That is alright, maybe you will be prepared more for when you finally have your own child." Cammillia said before sucking a breath as her pains came again. "Stay with me?"

"Always." Contessina smiled as she allowed her friend squeezed her hand.

Ezio sat on the steps of the villa with a bottle of wine in his hand and a letter from Contessina in the other. He thought killing Vieri would feel better than it did, but what else could he expect from killing a rival? There was a party and it was a good one, but there was more work that needed to be done. Of course, the wine was in celebration of Contessina's news about the birth of his nephew who was born the day before the letter reached him. The infant was healthy and so was his mother, which was a miracle considering childbirth was a very stressful endeavor for many women.

Contessina had also relayed to him that she knew of Vieri's death and Ezio's involvement in it. From now on the Assassin knew that there would be no secrets kept from her and she was doing her part in this war that she did not know she was a part of. Somehow the thought of her helping him gave Ezio a great comfort and he could not have been happier with how she endeavored to gather information for him. If anything, she could get word to him faster on the status of the Pazzi.

"Nipote? Why are you out here by yourself?" Mario's voice came from above him on the steps and Ezio turned around. "And drinking already? It's only midafternoon."

"It's a celebration drink for my nephew." The young man smiled at his uncle who came down the steps to sit with him. Ezio handed the bottle over to his uncle for him to take a swig of the sweet wine himself. "He was born the day before yesterday."

"Federico has a son. Well, I am a grand uncle!" Mario took another swig from the bottle. "This is cause for celebration, we must have a dinner tonight." Ezio coughed as Mario threw an arm over his shoulder.

"Why don't we wait until Contessina and Cammillia are here in Monteriggioni?" The young man suggested. "Why have a celebration when they are not here to enjoy it themselves?" Ezio made a point and Mario shrugged on it before removing his arm from his nephew's shoulders.

"Perhaps you are right. Though, I was looking forward to having a good meal for once. I am starting to get sick of eating the same thing over and over again." The older man said with a laugh before he quieted down and handed the bottle of wine back to Ezio. "I'm sure Giovanni would be very proud of you right now Ezio. Taking up his work was not an easy decision for you, but it was the right one. From now until the end, you will find yourself in situations where you may not come out alive. My brother knew that, and I believe that was why he was hesitant to tell you of this life." He put a hand on Ezio's shoulder to comfort the young man.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back in time to stop everything, but then I realize that it is impossible. Contessina reminded me of that in her last letter. She told me that if I stayed stuck in the past, I would never be able to overcome anything and that moving forward was better than staying stagnant in the past." The younger Auditore said before drinking from the bottle. "When I was on my way to San Gimignano, I kept thinking about what she said and then after I killed Vieri her words came back."

"I think you need her more than you realize, Nipote." Mario said speaking the truth and Ezio almost nodded knowing his uncle was certainly right, but he did not want to admit it just yet. He needed more proof of Contessina's feelings as well. "You love her, don't you?"

"I do, in a way." Ezio was reluctant to say that he was feeling more than just friendship towards Contessina these days. "We have been friends since children and for a while before we married, I loved someone else. Contessina changed so much in that time. She went from this lioness to a kitten willing to sacrifice her own happiness for mine and the woman I loved. She stopped being the Contessina I knew, and I did not realize it was my fault." Ezio finally felt a weight lifted off of his shoulders admitting his thoughts to his uncle.

"The important thing, Ezio, is that you realize where you went wrong. Women can be funny. When you ask them what they want and they say they don't want anything, it usually means they do want something. The other thing is admitting when you have made a mistake." Mario said before standing up with a grunt and then stretching. "Remember that when you see her again." He patted Ezio on the shoulder before making his way up the steps and leaving the younger man alone.


	13. Learning the Truth

**Ugh…I can't take this stay at home stuff anymore. I just want to go and frolic around so bad right now. Anyway, sorry for the incredibly late update. I've been doing school stuff since classes have been converted to Online. I hope everyone is doing well and everything. I am going to point out that I'm not particularly happy with this chapter (I think I rewrote it about four times trying to follow my outline) because it feels…slow and all exposition and conversation. With that being said, I honestly wanted to skip straight to April 26****th**** 1478 instead of doing this. But stick with the outline right? Forgive me if its slow, I promise things will pick up in the next chapter.**

**Also, at this point, Ezio is just in denial and Contessina, well, she is being stubborn. **

April 24th, 1478

The warm days of April were a comfort to Contessina as she sat in the garden of the Medici home. She watched as Cammillia sat in the grass playing with Renato, who was barely a year old but had begun to take his first steps. The little boy looked so much like his father it amazed Contessina. The only difference between Renato and Federico was the shade of his hair. Instead of the dark Auditore locks that Federico and Ezio had, Renato had a dark auburn; something he had clearly inherited from his mother. Either way, Contessina loved the little boy very much.

Renato Auditore babbled about anything he saw with his dark eyes and even had gone to lengths to reach for those things. Since his birth, he had been the center of Cammillia's attention, and she often forgot about everything going on around her. She barely asked about Ezio these days unlike before, but there was a reason for this. Contessina had known for a while that Cammillia was growing despondent to the lifestyle of the Medici. The blond could not blame her friend for this at all. Lorenzo had finally given in to letting Contessina go out of the Palazzo by herself, but he did have guards in the city looking out for her. Cammillia on the other hand, stayed in the Palazzo of her own volition.

Contessina smiled as Renato fell on his bottom again. He was determined to walk if only he could get his balance as it was the only problem he had. The little boy laughed because he clearly had no fear of falling and then he began to grab at his mother's skirts to pull himself back up. Sometimes, Renato reminded Contessina of Ezio in his pure determination to get something done as a child.

She looked down at the letter in her hands from Ezio. Seeing his handwriting after almost a year had lifted her spirits a little. Contessina had started to think he had forgotten about them, but in this case, he had not. Ezio had been busy rooting out Francesco de'Pazzi and his associates, finally following the man's trail back to Firenze. She had sent him many letters of the events going on in the city since then, but he had never replied to her. This letter came as a surprise and he apologized for his lack of keeping in touch with her.

If she did not know any better, Contessina would say that Ezio was already in Firenze, but the problem was finding him. She at least knew where to start. She gently folded up the letter and put it in the bust of her corset before standing up. Her actions cause Cammillia to look up and give the blond a questioning look.

"Contessina? Is everything alright?" The auburn woman said as she held on to her son's little hands.

"It's nothing. I'm just going to take care of an errand and speak with Leonardo about something." Contessina said dusting off her skirts. "Do you need anything while I am out?"

"Don't you think it is a little late in the afternoon to go out?" Cammillia said as she picked up Renato and set him on her hip.

"It hasn't stopped me before and it won't now." The blond said with a determined smile. "I will be back soon." She said walking up to Cammillia and kissing the babbling Renato on the cheek. "Goodbye Little Man."

She did not waste any time going up to her room and changing from her uncomfortable day dress into something more fitting and easier to move in. She made sure to take the dagger Giuliano gave her and place it in her boot before leaving the room. Making her way down the stairs quietly without being seen. As soon as she made it to the garden, she looked to see if Cammillia was still there and thankfully she had gone to put Renato to bed.

Once out in the streets, Contessina made her way to the only place she knew Ezio might go. It had long since been abandoned, but it was still where he spent a good deal of his childhood and she had not been there since he had left Firenze. By the time she approached the Palazzo Auditore, the sun was inching lower in the sky casing red light on the city. The torches were already being lit for the night and she managed to grab one before opening the gate.

Not much had changed in the courtyard other than the roses Maria had tenderly cared for. They had withered without her care, but at least there was hope in a small bud that appeared to be struggling. She made a mental note to go back for the rose bud later when she could leave with Ezio. In the meantime, she would have to return every day to make sure the plant did not die before then. Pushing forward she moved into what was once Giovanni Auditore's study and began to light the candles around the room.

There was a layer of dust over the books that had been scattered about Giovanni's desk. The books had been untouched by the thieves out of respect for the man, but most of the documents that the Auditore had left behind had been snatched up, most likely by Volpe. Contessina ran her fingers along the edge of the desk before picking up a lamp and moving to where the hidden room was. She hoped she was right because this was the only place Ezio would be able to go without being seen.

The blonde went to the fireplace and slowly pulled down on the sconce to activate the door. She held her breath for a moment while she waited for the door to life and when it did, she was slightly upset and relieved at the same time. She sighed when she saw the pile of old blankets and sheets on the floor along with pillows that indicated her husband had been sleeping there. A pack sat on the floor next to it, along with a tray full of crumbs and bottle of wine. There was also a stack of papers and documents that had Giovanni's handwriting all over them.

Contessina froze when she heard the sound of someone running on the roof and then climbing down the side of the building. She stood there as the door opened slowly and Ezio's face came into the light of the candles and torch. He looked somewhat startled to see her there, not really sure if he was seeing a ghost or not and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She had not seen him in over a year, if not two, but he had changed.

Ezio dropped his guard and removed the cowl from his head. He was sure he was staring at a figment of his imagination, but there was a woman standing there in front of him and she looked exactly like his wife. Not that he thought he would never see her again, but he had not really wanted to bring her into this secret war he was involved in. He blinked and shook his head before saying anything.

"I..." He found he did not know what to say. All the words that he had in his head disappeared the moment he opened his mouth and she just looked at him with watering eyes.

"Shut up." She said before running forward and pulling him into a strong embrace. Ezio was shocked at her reaction, but he could not say he had not been waiting for this moment. The young man put his arms around her with his hand cradling the back of her head and his fingers in her silky hair. "You're here." She mumbled into his shoulder as he held her close.

"I wanted to come to you as soon as I made it to Firenze, but I did not want to alert Lorenzo of my presence yet." He said as she pulled away and put her hands on his face. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to see if it is really you and not some ghost." Contessina smiled at him. "I almost forgot what you looked like." She removed her hands.

"Maybe I should have Leonardo paint a portrait of me before I leave again." Ezio looked at her with a smile on his face. Looking into her blue eyes in the candlelight made him forget why he was in Firenze for a moment. Sometime during his stay in Monteriggioni he had forgotten just how beautiful her eyes were and now he was looking into them once again. The heartache from his relationship with Cristina was slowly ebbing away and was being replaced by adoration for Contessina, the one person who had done everything she could to make his goals possible.

"That would be lovely, but I prefer you in person." Contessina said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"I know you would, but I may not be able to take you and Cammillia with me when I leave." Ezio said.

"I'm not sure if Cammillia will leave Firenze." The blonde said turning away from him as he shut the door. "She barely leaves the Palazzo these days. Not after Renato was born."

"There may be a very good reason for that, Contessina." He moved to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I have so much to tell you, but I'm not sure where to begin."

"The beginning is always nice." She was being snarky with him, but when she turned around to meet his gaze, she saw his eyes darken. "Ezio? What don't I know?" She put a hand on his cheek seeing the hurt behind his eyes.

"You should make yourself comfortable." He said grabbing her hand and pulling Contessina into the secret room where she sat on the chest while he began to take off his robes. She sat there quietly watching him in the light of the candles as he stripped down to his undershirt and pants before he removed his boots. "Will you sit with me?" Ezio asked her as he sat down on the pile of blankets he used for a bed. She did not know why he gave her a pleading look, but she complied without a second thought.

"You don't like being alone, do you?" The blond woman said as she moved to sit next to him. She had never known him to dislike being alone, but she supposed that the circumstances were now different from a couple years ago.

"It doesn't bother me, but tonight I feel lonely." Ezio told her as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. "I learned my father was an Assassin while I was away." He had a far off look in his eyes.

"I know." Contessina told him and he immediately looked right at her with a questioning stare. "There is a lot I must tell you too about what I've been doing the last year or so." She sighed as she started to lift her skirt up to reveal the dagger she had tucked in her boot.

"Contessina!" He said pulling the blade from her and looking at it. "Who gave you this?" Ezio inspected the blade with a critical eye.

"Giuliano." Contessina smiled before taking the dagger back and putting it on the floor beside her. "I asked him to teach me how to defend myself after you left. He was reluctant at first, but then he was more than willing."

"And?" Ezio asked with a curious look.

"And I can hold my own against someone less skilled than Giuliano." She told him before adding. "A lot less skilled." Ezio nodded in response trying to process the thought of Contessina fighting anyone. She was feisty when she wanted to be, but harming another person was hard for him to imagine her doing.

"That is a bit hard to imagine, but I'm not against it." He told her.

"Like you had any say in the matter, Ezio Auditore!" She pulled away from him with a glare and hit him on the arm. "You were not here so what was I supposed to do? Sit here and look pretty for all to see and take advantage of?" She had half a mind to leave him there for that remark.

"Contessina, calm yourself. I know and I am alright with it. I know other husbands don't like their wives to be able to wield a blade, but I'm not traditional. By any means." He said grabbing her as she moved to stand. "My family is far from it and you know this." She calmed down looking into his eyes and seeing the pride in them. Ezio was proud of her for what she did and that made her heartbeat wildly.

"My family is stuck in tradition." Contessina said as she sat still and looked down at her fingers. "I am sick of the Medici." Ezio heard the weary tone in her voice and put his hand on hers.

"You may be a Medici, but you belong with the Auditore." Ezio leaned over and kissed her cheek. He almost wanted to tell her that she belonged with him too, but he was not sure enough yet if that was the case. Maybe he was, but he did not know how to process what he was feeling in that moment. "I missed you." He held her hand in his, feeling how smooth her skin was in his rough palms.

"I missed you too." She replied to him before leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. "Tell me what I missed."

"You tell me how you know about my father first." Ezio said wanting to know exactly what Contessina knew and how she knew it.

"I learned this from someone who you may want to get to know while you are here." Contessina told him as she flipped his hand over to lazily trace the lines on his palm. "He can be very helpful in finding people."

"Who?" Ezio asked.

"He goes by a particular name and there are a few people who know it." She kept her words as vague as possible and it slightly annoyed Ezio. "He goes by the name, La Volpe."

"Can he help me find Francesco de'Pazzi?" The young man felt a little excited at possibly getting ahead of the Pazzi schemers.

"I'm sure he will. He was there when your father and brothers were executed, and he led me to safety." She told him. Ezio felt as though she had kept this from him for a reason and decided not to question it. "He also was able to get me the information you needed on the whereabouts of not only the Pazzi, but of Rodrigo Borgia. Yes, I know about him too." She said before he could say anything.

"I knew that you knew, but did you know about why my family was targeted?" Ezio asked her hoping that she did not know so he could tell her about the secret war going on between the Assassins and Templars. He also just wanted to tell her something she did not know. Call it male pride, but he wanted to be the one to tell her that.

"No. I don't know. I ask myself why every day." She told him and Ezio secretly rejoiced in that little triumph. He nodded before taking a deep breath.

"You will be here for a while." Ezio told her with a smirk on his face as he began to tell her the story of the Assassins and Templars.

Contessina sat there with him completely immersed in the story he was telling her. Ezio was a gifted storyteller in his own right, but she had never heard of a story such as this. Assassins fighting for the innocent while Templars sought control and order. None of it made sense, but at the same time she saw the connections that she had seen before with Giovanni. Now, Ezio was in the middle of this war and he was putting his own life on the line to make sure these terrible things did not happen at the hands of madmen.

"All of this sounds so...I don't have a word for it, but it sounds like fantasy. Codex pages, Pieces of Eden...What does it all mean?" She asked Ezio who knew just as much as she did at this point.

"I am still trying to find the answers myself, but, Contessina, this is what my father was doing." The young man said before laying down on his side with his head propped up on his elbow. "Do you see now?"

"I do, but I'm going to need time to process all of this." Contessina said as he pulled her down with him. "I'm not sure if it is real to me yet."

"I didn't believe it at first either." He said as her head hit the pillow. Ezio moved a lock of her hair out of her face and looked down at her. The look he was giving her made her wonder what it was he saw in her and why he wanted her to believe him so badly. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"I shouldn't. Lorenzo will go looking for me if I do not show up for breakfast, but I can stay for a while longer." She said before yawning finding herself completely relaxed with Ezio by her side again.

"You are my wife." Ezio said with possession in his voice. "Lorenzo can..." He was about to say when she put a finger to his lips.

"I am your wife." She said with a smile and moved closer to him.

"_Bene._ Now that is out of the way, I am exhausted." Ezio said giving her another kiss on the cheek before settling down next to her and wrapping his arms around her.

Ezio woke up just before dawn feeling refreshed and ready to do what he came to Firenze to do. Francesco de'Pazzi was not going to leave the city alive, Ezio was going to make sure of that, but the first thing he had to do was make sure Contessina made it back to her family. During the night she had turned over to face him with her head resting on his shoulder. His fingers were tangled in her long wavy locks and he wanted nothing more than to stay there with her, but this was not the time.

The young man had thought about the woman in his arms more than he realized while away from her and he wondered if she had thought of him in the same way. Ezio had not forgotten her face or the way her voice had a pleasant ring to it. He had not forgotten how she walked with an air of pride and a spring in her step. There were no more comparing women for him anymore as he knew exactly what he had in front of him now. The question for him was how much did he want it? He did not know exactly. Looking down at her, Ezio saw how peaceful she was but underneath all of that was a fierce tigress.

"What time is it?" She mumbled as he moved a strand of her hair away from her face.

"Early. Almost dawn." Ezio said looking at the dull morning light coming through a small window.

"I don't want to move." Contessina said moving closer to him and burying her face into his chest. "I don't want to hear Lorenzo complaining about how I didn't go home." Her fingers grasped at Ezio's shirt.

"You have to go home, Contessina. At least for now." She did not reply to his statement and when he looked down, she had already fallen back in a comfortable sleep. Ezio rolled his eyes and laid back down. What would it hurt to sleep another hour or so?

Sometime after the Sun rose, Contessina was awake again. She slowly opened her eyes to adjust to the light in the room only to see Ezio dressing himself. She had wondered why there was no warmth beside her at first, but after seeing him fastening the last of his gear, she figured it out. The blond caught the attention of her husband when she sat up and he turned to her with a small smirk on his lips.

"What is it?" She asked him as she ran her fingers through her hair to get the tangles out.

"Nothing." Ezio said trying to hide his wondering gaze from her and then he turned back to putting his cape on. "I must go see Leonardo; would you like to come with me?"

"I knew you two would become good friends. The last time I visited he wanted to know if you were still alive and well." Contessina said as she stood up and smoothed out her slightly wrinkled dress.

"He will find out how alive I am in a little while." Ezio chuckled.

"I will go with you to see Leonardo. Besides, he has something that belongs to me." She told Ezio. She had to retrieve the original letter from the Pope about her annulment and hide it elsewhere. She had been meaning to do it for some time now, but she had not found a place for it until now. "After that, you must bring me back to my jailors." She said with a sigh.

"You mean your family." Ezio said and she gave him a deadpan look.

"I call them my family only when it suits me." She told him as he handed her the dagger Giuliano gave her. "They have even corrupted Milia. Now she believes everyone who isn't Medici is out to get her." She put the blade in its proper spot before allowing Ezio to lead her out of the room.

"But you think otherwise?" Ezio said as he guided her out of the room.

"It is the Pazzi that has Lorenzo fighting like a mad dog to keep Firenze in one piece. If anything were to happen to Lorenzo, Firenze would sink into a pit of despair. Our economy is stable for the most part, but we cannot take any more hits, Ezio. One more and it all comes to a bitter end." Contessina told Ezio and he understood perfectly. Being a banker's son and having been tutored in the arithmetic needed to run a bank, he understood how fragile economy was.

"You have allies here that can help me find Francesco, which is the most important thing right now. If I can deal with him first, then whatever plot they have against the Medici can't succeed." Ezio told her as they walked outside into the courtyard. "If I can be in the place where Francesco plans to gather his allies before he knows, then we have a chance."

"Then you will need someone who knows the city better than any of us." She went quiet as they made it to the gates. "We should continue this conversation at Leonardo's."

"Agreed." He looked around before pulling his hood over his head and going out into the streets. Thankfully Leonardo's workshop was not too far away from where they were.


	14. A Gathering of Templars

**How is everyone doing? Making it through this pandemic, I hope? **

**That being said, I really like this chapter. It's not action packed, but it is definitely dramatic (the action will be in the next chapter). I set up a few things with this one that will kind of change some things from the game and will be geared to the actual history of what happened on Easter Sunday in 1478. Also, please leave comments if you want too, feedback is always nice! **

**With that said, Happy Reading!**

Ezio did not hesitate to knock on Leonardo's door before entering with Contessina directly behind him. The shop had not changed since he had been there the last time; maybe a little messier than the last time with papers thrown everywhere. He looked at Contessina who only shrugged as Leonardo came from around the corner.

"Ezio!" The artist was shocked to see the both of them standing there. "You're here! In Firenze. And alive!" Leonardo let his shock dissipate into excitement on seeing his friend for the first time in over a year. The artist went up to Ezio with a broad smile on his face and put his hands on the younger man's arms.

"Look at this place, the past two years have been kind to you." Ezio motioned to the workshop around them seeing all the different inventions and paintings Leonardo had been working on.

"But you are not the same, are you?" Leonardo said backing away from the Assassin with a sad look on his face. "I thought so. And Contessina, how could I forget!" He went over to the blond woman behind Ezio and kissed both her cheeks in greeting. "As lovely as ever." He turned back to Ezio. "It is good to see you both here together."

"Leonardo, do you have parchment and a quill I can borrow?" Contessina asked her friend.

"Si, over there on that table." The artist said pointing to the table in the center of the room. "Take what you need." He smiled at Contessina as she went to the table and sat down to write a letter. Ezio watched her for a moment wondering what she was up too and then turned his attention back to Leonardo.

"I was hoping you could help me with something." The young man pulled two codex pages from the inside of his robes and handed it to Leonardo. "This one is in better shape than the last one and this one has seen better days."

"I see that." The artist unrolled a scroll and looked at the drawings. "This one is quite different from the last, but it looks as though it has the same pattern." Leonardo moved to the table where Contessina was busying herself with the letter. "And this one looks like a diagram of different assassination techniques." The words caught Contessina's attention and she looked up to see Ezio looking down at the scrolls in front of Leonardo.

"What is this?" She asked looking at the second scroll. "It looks like a weapon."

"Can you make it for me?" Ezio asked as he looked down on the designs in front of him.

"If I can hollow it out without destroying the integrity of the blade, it shouldn't take too long. In the meantime, I'll have my assistant set up some dummies in the yard so you can practice these." Leonardo handed Ezio the scroll with the diagrams on it. "Eh! Vincenzo!"

"Are you coming Contessina?" Ezio asked her and she looked up at him with a smile.

"In a moment, I need to finish this." She said before going back to writing. He sat down next to her while there was a commotion in the back of the workshop as Vincenzo came running in.

"Who are you writing to?" He leaned over closer to her to see what she had on the paper, but she shirked away and glared at him. "What?"

"I'm writing to Giuliano." She said hiding the contents of the letter from her husband. "To make sure he goes to church in the morning."

"Oh." He knew it was a complete lie, but he did not pry any further.

"Don't look so disappointed, I have sent you plenty letters during our time apart and you didn't reply to most of them." Contessina said making a jab at Ezio's ego for fun. "I should have told you I was writing to my lover."

"You have a lover?" He smirked knowing she was lying from the blush on her cheeks in response. "What is his name?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Contessina put the quill down after signing her name at the bottom of the page and then folded it up before stuffing it in the inside of Ezio's doublet.

"Hey, I thought that was for someone else." He said reaching in, but she stopped him.

"It is and you will know who it's for when you see them." She patted his chest where the letter sat and then stood up. "Now, for those assassination techniques." Ezio was not sure what to do with Contessina at that moment because it was a totally different woman than what he had left behind. He had no choice but to stand up and follow her out of the door.

Ezio stood next to Contessina in the yard where Vincenzo had tirelessly climbed up the trellis with the dummy on his back for Ezio. The poor boy worked hard to get the bags of straw and sand up there, while doing a marvelous job. Ezio had to give the boy some praise before he left the couple alone.

Contessina held the scroll open so Ezio could look at the diagrams carefully. One was from a hidden spot, like in a haybale. That was easy enough. The second was from a high position where he would have to jump down without hurting himself and land on his target. That would not be a problem. The third one was hanging from a ledge below the enemy and pulling them down. That could pose a problem.

"Do you want me to instruct you?" Contessina said looking at him from over her shoulder. "Or would you just like for me to watch?" He smiled at her as he looked at his 'targets' and then moved to climb up the trellis first. "I suppose you would like for me to just watch."

He did not say anything as he hung from the ledge beneath the first dummy and reached up to pull it down. There was hardly any resistance, which he knew if it were a real man there would be some, but this would do. The dummy went crashing down headfirst into the ground. Ezio took the opportunity to climb up and run over to the next target which was on the ground standing beneath a balcony. He did not think twice before launching himself down and tackling the dummy with the sound of it giving way to his weight.

"Show off." He heard Contessina say before he moved to the haybale in the corner and dove into it. She was close enough for him to grab and she would not be expecting it at all because of the dummy. "Ezio, the dummy isn't going to kill itself." She said with a bit of sass. He smirked from withing the pile of straw and grabbed her while he could, pulling her in with a screech coming from her mouth. "Ezio! What on Earth!" She said as he held her close with both arms in the hay and he chuckled in her ear.

"I could not help myself. You were a better target than the dummy." He said before she turned over in his arms to where she was facing him. There was nothing said between them as they looked into each other's eyes. Some part of Ezio wanted to push her away, but the majority wanted to kiss her beautiful lips. Her beautiful light blond hair fell around her face like a waterfall even though hay had become tangled within the strands. "Contessina."

Her heart seemed to stop beating when Ezio whispered her name and she could not help but to look directly into his eyes which were full of longing. There was something she had not seen in those golden-brown orbs of his before, at least not that she had noticed. She did not expect him to put his hand on her cheek, but she was caught up in his gaze and it did not register. She was completely unaware of how close her face was to Ezio's and then she felt the urge to close in the distance. When her lips were about to make contact with his, she suddenly felt terrified and blinked.

"I can't do this." Contessina said before climbing off of Ezio and standing up out of the hay bale. She made her way out of the yard to the street before leaning against the wall where Ezio could not see her. Her heart was pounding and so many thoughts were running through her mind that she could not process. She was shaking from what she could only guess was fear, but at the same time she wanted to run back to Ezio and kiss him. It was so confusing.

"Contessina!" She heard him call out her name as he came around the corner. "Contessina?" He had a hurt look in his eyes, but they softened when he saw how she was shaking and confused.

"I... I have to go, Ezio. I can't help you with this next part and I must return." The blond said as she took a deep breath and composed herself. "Give the letter to La Volpe when you meet him. It will explain everything." She said before walking away from him in a daze.

Contessina opened the garden gate and walked in as though she had been in another world it seemed. She slowly went to the bench under the apple tree and sat there in quiet contemplation. She began to pick out the hay that was still embedded in her bright blond locks while processing what had happened within that haystack. She was so close to kissing him, but she panicked like a rabbit.

"There you are." Giuliano's voice interrupted her thoughts as he came to stand over her. "Did you sleep in a haystack last night?" He said picking a piece of the straw out of her hair and tossing it aside.

"No." Contessina said quietly as he sat down next to her on the bench.

"You had us all worried. Where were you?" He asked her.

"Giuliano, I don't know anything about being in love. I don't know what it feels like, what it looks like, or even what it sounds like, but I think I'm in love." Contessina said letting her hands fall into her lap and then she looked at her cousin. "I never wanted to be in love, but I guess it caught up to me." She had tears in her eyes and all of a sudden Giuliano was on his knees in front of her gathering her hands in his.

"He is back in Firenze then?" She nodded in reply. "Contessina, what am I going to do with you?" He pulled her into a hug. For the first time in her life, Contessina was in love with someone and it happened to be the boy she met as a child.

Sneaking about beneath Firenze was something Ezio had never dreamed of doing, but there he was silently walking through the catacombs. He had been born and raised in Firenze, yet he had no idea about the mass network of subterranean tunnels that spanned the city. This was a definite first for him. However, he had not planned for a chase or the outright killing of any guards, but it was expected in his line of work. He had found the meeting spot just in time as he heard the tail end of a prayer being said.

"Bernardo, would you do us the honors." The unmistakable voice of Rodrigo Borgia boomed through the room just as Ezio crouched down to listen through the small vent.

"Of course." The rotund man said before clearing his throat. "I have everything you requested. Swords, staves, knives, and spears. Enough for a battalion to arm themselves." He said motioning to the weapons on the table in front of him. "I assume you have men ready to surround the city?"

"Enough to do the job. No one will leave Firenze once the Medici are dealt with." Rodrigo said confirming a serious plot in place.

"I take it the Pope has given his approval on this matter?" Jacopo asked. Ezio sighed knowing somehow that it always went back to the Pope of all people.

"He has given his blessing as long as nobody gets killed." The Templar Grandmaster said. The assassin felt that the words were in favor of the conspirators and the innocent not getting killed. This posed a problem.

"We're ready for the Duomo in the morning, Signore. The bait has been laid, but it was a little difficult." Francesco said. "His fool of a brother keeps changing his plans."

"Si. We may need to be on hand to make sure Giuliano even gets out of bed for church tomorrow!" Bernardo said and the men chuckled at his improper joke. All the while, Jacopo stayed silent with a worried look on his face.

"What is it Jacopo? Do you think they suspect something?" Rodrigo asked. Ezio could almost feel the air in the room go from light to dark in the matter of seconds.

"It is impossible. The Medici are too arrogant to notice. They are so concerned with tradition and favoritism to see what is going on under their noses." Francesco said with a little arrogance himself.

"Do not underestimate our enemies, Francesco. Do you not remember how the Auditore boy killed your son?" Jacopo was quick to be the man of wisdom in this conversation and of course he pointed out exactly who murdered Vieri.

"That will not happen this time, Maestro. I swear it. I have a backup plan in case the Auditore interferes." Francesco had something in mind and Ezio was more than positive it had something to do with Contessina.

"_Molto bene._ I should be off. I have some other business I must attend to before I return to Roma." Rodrigo said. "Tomorrow a new Sun rises over Firenze." He told them as the men gathered their things and began to leave, but Rodrigo seemed to want to speak with Francesco some more. "May the father of understanding guide us."

"May the father of understanding guide us." The men answered him together before they left.

"Francesco? A word alone if you'd please?" Rodrigo asked the younger Pazzi.

"What is it?" Francesco said approaching Rodrigo who pulled him into the corner right below where Ezio sat.

"This plan of yours to draw out the Assassin, what or who does it involve?" Rodrigo lowered his voice so that the other men could not hear.

"You may recall Contessina de' Medici, now known as Contessina Auditore?" Francesco elaborated and Ezio held his breath at his wife's name.

"Ah, yes." Rodrigo nodded. "She is to come to no harm. Use her as bait if you have to, but I do not want her blood on our hands."

"No, her blood will be on the Assassin's hands." Francesco said with venom in his voice. It was clear that he wanted revenge for Vieri's death and who better to take it out on than the wife of the man who did the deed. Ezio's blood boiled at the thought of Francesco even touching Contessina. "This is only if the Assassin shows his face, Maestro. If he is not here, there is no use involving an innocent woman."

"I do not like the idea of harming a woman, but do as you must." The Templar said as he left Francesco there to contemplate his next move.

The whole conversation put Ezio in a foul place. On one hand, there was something that was going to happen to the Medici the next day and on the other hand, Contessina was also in danger. It was even possible that she would be in danger no matter what he did. There was no avoiding the matter now and he knew that he had to tread carefully on how to deal with this next action.

Standing up Ezio moved to the end of the corridor where he came across a surprising sight. It seemed as though he had stumbled across one of the tombs his uncle spoke of and this put a smile on his face. There were a few chests full of gold and jewels that had been stashed there, however he could only take so much with him. He went over to one of the chests and opened it seeing a few trinkets made of silver within. One happened to be a silver hair clip with sapphires and pearls embedded in it. He smiled and put it into one of the pouches on his belt for later before he moved to the sarcophagus in the center of the room.

When Ezio came out of the manhole that lead from the catacombs, he saw Volpe sitting on a bench close by. The young man carefully put the cover back before going to sit with the master thief. Ezio had no good news for him, but a plan of action needed to be discussed in case of failure.

"I know where Francesco will be, and when, but..." Ezio paused to think over his words carefully.

"What is it?" Volpe asked.

"I don't like what I heard. They have enough weapons for an entire battalion and what is worse, the Pope has given his support." Ezio saw the look of concern on the other man's face as he mentioned it.

"That is not surprising, Sixtus wants Firenze bad enough he would do something like this, but what is their plan? To starve out Firenze?" Volpe had his own ideas of what the conspirators where planning, but he was close to the right theory.

"I think that is only part of their plan. The other part is what concerns me the most because it involves the Medici and they plan to act tomorrow morning at the Duomo." Ezio said and the man beside him sat up straight in realization. It was then that the same thought crossed the Assassin's mind as well.

"Tomorrow is Easter Sunday! All of Firenze's nobility will be in the Duomo for the service..." The older man said with a little shock in his voice at the audacity the Pazzi had. "They are going to do it in the middle of High Mass!"

"Yes, but I can take advantage of the crowds outside and find a way to get into the cathedral. If they were to try something, it would be during prayer when heads are bowed, and eyes are closed." The plan had formed in his mind so clearly, but he would have to pay a visit to the Duomo and find a way to get in without being seen. This was where his mind and heart diverted. "I can stop this madness." But there would be a high price to it.

"If this fails, we will lose Lorenzo and the Pazzi will gain control of Firenze!" Volpe said almost in a panic, but he calmed himself after seeing Ezio's even temper, yet Ezio was trying not to let his heart rule his mind in that moment.

"That will not happen, Volpe. I won't let it." The young man had to give some reassurance. "There is much more at stake for me personally." He reached into his doublet and pulled out the letter that Contessina had written to Volpe and handed it to the man next to him. "I was told to give that to you."

"Ah yes, Contessina." There was a smile that came to Volpe's face when he saw the handwriting on the front of the letter. Ezio was curious as to how his wife could get such a reaction from a man like Volpe, but then again, this was Contessina he was thinking of. He often had the same reaction when it came to her letters as well. "Walk with me." Volpe said standing up and Ezio followed suit as they made their way up into the streets away from the river.

"I have no idea on the contents of the letter, but I am sure it has to do with something of importance." Ezio told the thief as they came to a small square.

"It is most likely an account of her latest discoveries." Volpe looked at Ezio with a small smirk and then put a hand on his shoulder. "If anything were to happen to her, Amico, you will regret it."

"Is that advice or a threat?" Ezio asked feeling a little threatened by the serious look that suddenly graced the older man's face.

"Call it a warning." Volpe told him before opening the letter and reading its contents. "Hmm...I suppose she will be leaving Firenze soon?"

"To be honest, Volpe, I should have taken her with me when I left the first time." Ezio said with a sad expression on his face. He had known for a while that Contessina's life had been miserable since he left even if her letters stated otherwise. She was trapped in Firenze and unable to grow like the wildflower she was.

"It is not sensible to regret things that are out of your control. I have watched over her and she has learned to make do; that should be enough. Whether you realize it or not, Ezio, Contessina is your greatest ally in this madness and I have taught her the skills she needs to help you." The older man said giving the younger support and confidence. Ezio let the words sink in for a moment before realizing that Contessina was truly the only one he could rely on for anything.

"Volpe, can I count on you for something?" Ezio asked the older man.

"What is it?"

"There was something else I overheard between Francesco de'Pazzi and Rodrigo Borgia. It involves Contessina directly. I am not sure how to go about this because Francesco is daring enough to use her to bait me in. Could you get her to safety tomorrow?" He was positive that no matter the outcome for the Medici, Francesco would do anything to get vengeance for Vieri's murder. Volpe seemed to have the same thought and nodded.

"Si, I will. Do you have a plan?" Volpe asked as they walked off and Ezio began to explain in detail of the plan he had formed in his mind concerning Contessina.

The Medici family sat around the table that night eating dinner. Lorenzo at one end of the table and Clarice at the other in typical fashion while Contessina sat between Giuliano and Cammillia. It was tradition that the eve before Easter was a celebration of things to come with the family, however there was a lack of festivity coming from Contessina. She picked at the food on her plate which seemed to catch her mother's attention more than once and the older woman would make a look at the blond to encourage eating. This did not work as the blond continued to pick at the food and sigh.

Giuliano seemed to notice as well, but he understood her feelings. She was heartsick as most women would say. She loved someone who may not love her back as much as she loved them and that was something Giuliano knew well. She was glad that he understood. When he put a hand on top of hers to lend her support, she looked at him with a thankful smile. Cammillia seemed to be in a strange mood herself, most likely because she was being forced to leave the Palazzo to attend mass in the morning.

"Contessina? You have been picking at your food all night. Is everything alright?" Clarice spoke up from her end of the table and Lorenzo put his fork down to hear what his cousin had to respond with. Contessina looked up with a smile on her face.

"It is nothing, I just do not have an appetite tonight." She told them, but Clarice did not seem to buy it.

"Are you ill?" Lorenzo spoke up in concern. Also not seeming to buy her excuse.

"No! No, I am fine. Really. Please do not worry about me. I just have a lot on my mind." She said picking up her fork and poking the pheasant meat in her plate before bringing it up to her mouth.

"They aren't buying it." Giuliano leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Maybe you should just retire for the night."

"Giuliano, you seem to know something we don't." Clarice was adamant on finding out what exactly was causing Contessina's lack of appetite and the blond woman was starting to simmer. Giuliano sat back in his chair and gave his sister in law an indifferent look. "Come on then, tell us what you know?"

"It is none of your business." The look on Clarice's face hardened as Giuliano defended Contessina. "She is a grown woman and she doesn't have to tell any of you anything."

"We are her family. We should be able to know what is bothering her so we can help her. If she has something on her mind that is making her ill, then we must deal with it." Clarice said with the snobbish stare she always gave when she believed there was nothing really wrong. Contessina began to feel like she was being trampled on and her self-esteem was being flattened. "Don't you agree, Ginevra?"

"Perhaps going to Mass will clear the distractions. A good confession is always the key to emptying one's mind of demons." Between Clarice and Ginevra, Contessina had enough and stood up before throwing her fork down.

"There is nothing wrong with me!" Contessina said while Lorenzo stayed silent at his end of the table. "I have to ask what is wrong with you!" She started to tear up. "I have been stuck in this family since I was a child, taught to be something I am not, yet you think it is fine to assume that I am 'ill'. That I have 'demons' in my mind?" Contessina huffed and then gave an unbelieving smile. "The nerve you have. All of you. I have always hidden behind the name Medici, but no longer."

"Contessina! Enough!" Lorenzo said loudly from where he sat. "You will not talk about your family like that."

"But I'm not your family am I, Lorenzo?" She said putting he foot down and looking at her cousin. "You do not get to command me anymore. You are not my father, nor my husband and I do not have to obey you anymore."

"Contessina! How dare you!" Clarice said standing up.

"I don't want to hear it anymore. I am tired of this and I will be glad when I can leave this place." Contessina said before leaving the room and going to the garden. She sat on her bench beneath the apple tree and cried until she felt someone sit down beside her. When she looked up, she saw Cammillia's face. "I can't stay here anymore." She cried and the auburn-haired woman nodded before pulling her close.

"I know that Ezio is back in Firenze." Cammillia said. Contessina figured that her friend knew exactly what was going on. "I also know what you are going through." The woman sighed as she held on to the younger girl.

"I love him, Milia." Contessina sniffed and rubbed the tears away from her eyes. "I love him so much it hurts, but I don't know if he feels the same and that is what scares me."

"That is the scary part of love. When you fall, you fall hard, but it is the unknown that is the hardest part." Cammillia said to her. "As far as your family goes, they are in Monteriggioni and they are waiting for you."

"You are not going to leave Firenze, are you?" Cammillia shook her head in reply to Contessina's question. "Why?"

"I have to provide for Renato, but I cannot ask Ezio to raise him. Not when you two have your own children to raise in the future. It is unfair, so I asked Lorenzo to find me a husband and he did. I am to be married again in the summer." Cammillia dropped the news on Contessina and the blond removed herself from the older woman's grasp.

"To whom?" Contessina could not believe it.

"One of Lorenzo's associates, Paolo Torretti. He is a good man and has agreed to raise Renato as his own." Cammillia said smiling and Contessina had a hard time accepting the news, but she knew that Cammillia was right to do as she dictated. "Don't worry about me, Contessina. You need to worry about getting home where you belong." The auburn-haired woman said running a hand over Contessina's hair in comfort. "You are an Auditore."

The words ran through Contessina's head over and over again. She did not say anything when her friend stood up and left her there alone to think. Tomorrow, she would go with Giuliano to church, but after that she was going to find Ezio and she was going to tell him how she felt. When the Pazzi were dealt with, she was going to go home with him and stay by his side.

She was a Medici, but now she is Auditore.


	15. The Duomo

**What? Two chapters in 24 hours? Yeah, I know. I must be incredibly bored. Actually, I had to break up this big chapter into two so the second part to this one will be up soon. It's a little shorter than what I would like, but again, I felt it needed to end where it did. No worries. I just want to point out again that this chapter is going to be as historically accurate as possible, so I had to change some things from the game. In the game the sequence of events takes place outside of the Cathedral and historically it happens inside. **

**Also, I hope everyone is still doing well and ya'll are staying healthy. **

Contessina did not sleep during the night. Her mind would not let her rest, so she began to pack the most important of her possessions, starting with the jewels she had collected over the years. She was leaving Firenze one way or another. Even if she had to follow Ezio to Monteriggioni, she was determined not to be in the place that had been hell for most of her life. She wrote letters to everyone after packing her belongings into a large satchel that could be tied to a saddle.

Sighing she waited for the day to begin and then dressed herself in the blue dress she had made for such an occasion. Contessina figured she may as well wear it once before leaving it to gather dust forever in Firenze. She did not care what her mother would think about her leaving at this point, she belonged to Ezio, not the Medici. There was no time to be sitting in a place where she was only taking up space with little to no growth.

She did not stop when she heard a knock at her door and the sound of Lorenzo's voice on the other side. He was asking to come in and speak with her, but she was not sure if she wanted to hear what he had to say. However, Contessina sighed knowing that she may need her cousin's help in the future. So, she went to the door and opened it, letting Lorenzo come into her room. He saw the bag that she had packed on her bed and looked at her with a sympathetic glint in his eyes.

"You are leaving?" Lorenzo asked, but she did not reply as she continued to ready herself for church. "I had guessed the reason for your behavior last night had something to do with your husband."

"Lorenzo, I make my own decisions. Yes, Ezio is my husband, but he has never tried to control me or even tried to make me be something I am not. All of Firenze love the Medici because of what they see on the outside, but they don't know what goes on within the walls of this Palazzo." She told her cousin as Giuliano appeared in the doorway. "All of this tradition and reliance on the glory of God to pursue your endeavors is a façade. I believed that Grandfather had done something wonderful for the glory of God, but in all honesty, he was doing it for his own glory. You are doing the same, but you also keep the people in mind and for that I cannot give you any grievances." She was speaking the truth. Contessina found it liberating because now she only had one goal in mind and that was to go home with the man she loved.

"Is this how you see your family then?" Lorenzo asked her with a calm demeanor. He was so calm she expected him to explode on her, but all he did was sit on the edge of her bed. "Is this truly how you see us?" She sat next to him knowing that he had a hard time seeing the truth like she did.

"I have spent most of my life in the shadow of Lorenzo de'Medici and when I finally got a taste of freedom, it was ripped out from under my feet. You are not to blame for that, but since I have lived here, I have been a prisoner. If it isn't you, it's my mother, or your wife. I know you meant well by it, but you know as well as I do that I was never meant to belong here." Contessina said looking down at her feet.

"No, you belong with the Auditore. I am sorry, Contessina. I should've treated you better." He put his forehead to hers and then kissed it. "You have my blessing to go."

"But first, you must let me escort you to the Duomo for church." Giuliano pipped up from where he leaned on the doorframe. Contessina stood up with a smile on her face as Lorenzo followed her.

"Of course, Giuliano." She gave him a bigger smile as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "How could I forget the most boring of all Medici?" Her mood had greatly improved, almost as if she were a child again.

Ezio had made his way into the crowd gathering in front of the Santa Maria del Fiore. Most of the people in the crowd were of the lower class in Firenze, but they were more than welcome to proceed with the service that would be held inside the cathedral. He watched from his position as Francesco de'Pazzi and his uncle stood on the steps of the church waiting for Lorenzo and his family to arrive. Ezio could see the Medici family making their way down the street to the Piazza with happy faces. If only they knew what was going to happen within the hour.

Ezio could barely make out what Lorenzo was saying to his wife, but he was sure it had something to do with the Pazzi because of his face. It seemed distrusting of whatever Francesco had in store for their greeting. As soon as Lorenzo passed, he saw Giuliano following close beside him with Contessina on his arm and Ezio had to suppress the urge to run to her and warn her of what was going to happen. Her wide smile did not go unnoticed by him though, she looked happy for once, but when she looked through the crowd her smile widened even more. She saw him and he had to move fast, or Francesco would notice too.

"Ezio?" Contessina whispered wondering why her husband would be standing in a crowed outside the Duomo and how he quickly disappeared from her sight.

"What was that Contessina?" Giuliano asked her as they made their way up the steps to stand behind Lorenzo.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She gave him a convincing smile feeling something come over her akin to dread.

"Francesco, I would say it is good to see you, but I can't deny that it isn't." Lorenzo said as he greeted his foe, who seemed to be in a good mood. Contessina felt a little wary at the exchange between the Pazzi man and her cousin.

"Lorenzo, it is Easter Sunday. For the sake of Firenze, I am offering an olive branch so that there will be no bad blood between us today." Francesco said with a convincing smile on his face and Lorenzo seemed to take that into consideration. There were no weapons allowed inside a consecrated cathedral and peace was to be made between enemies at the door, to which Contessina was grateful for. "For old times' sake, my friend?" Francesco said putting a hand on the eldest son of Piero the Gouty.

"Alright then, let there be peace between us today and hopefully in the future." Lorenzo said agreeing with a smile to his onetime friend turned enemy. He then decided to escort his wife into the cathedral with Francesco remaining at the door.

"And Giuliano, I am sure I can extend the same curtesy to you, being as we were once friends as well." The Pazzi man said with a hand to his chest then looking over to Contessina. "Signora Contessina, I apologize for what my son did to you." Now it seemed too unreal to her with the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It was disgraceful."

"I accept your apology and I offer my condolences to you Signore Pazzi for his death." The blond did her best to make her smile look sincere before Giuliano pulled her away and into the cathedral.

Once Contessina disappeared with Giuliano, Bernardo walked up the steps to greet Francesco along with one of the priests. It seemed that Ezio was right when he read their lips. They were going to wait until the middle of prayer before making a move. The assassin knew how to get inside the Duomo without being seen thanks to the secret entrance he discovered the night before, but he had to hurry.

Contessina stood next to Giuliano as they waited for most of the noblemen and women to settle into the great cathedral. They stood to the right of the alter where they normally stood every Sunday. Across from the Medici family stood Bernardo Machiavelli and his wife with their children who seemed to be more worried about picking on each other. Little Niccolò stood quietly as his mother fussed at his two older brothers and when he saw Contessina, he gave her a little nod.

"That has got to be the most well-behaved boy in Firenze." Giuliano said quietly as he saw Niccolò pull on his mother's skirts. "Who would have thought?"

"Niccolò is certainly different." She replied with a smile and gave the boy across from her a small wave as the church filled to its brim.

"He seems to be in love with you Contessina, too bad you are already taken." The blond man said with a chuckle as Contessina elbowed him in the ribs. "Alright, I'm sorry."

"Hush, before I send you outside." Clarice said sternly and Giuliano smirked. "I mean it Giuliano, if I have to treat you like my children when they are being senseless then so be it."

"Giuliano, please behave before we cause too much trouble." The younger woman said putting a hand on her cousin's forearm to get her point across. "Look, the procession is coming so keep it down." She said when she saw the altar boy coming down the aisle holding up the staff with the cross upon it. Behind him was a priest swinging the incense burner back and forth in a cleansing ritual while behind him was the bishop. Several more clergy followed behind and then the doors closed blocking out the rest of Firenze. "Why are they closing the doors?" She looked at Giuliano with a questioning gaze.

"I don't know. They've never closed the doors for Easter before." The service was for everyone, nobleman and peasant alike, however this did not feel right. Something was off about all of this.

Contessina thought it best to keep quiet as the service began. First the bishop began with the blessing of the alter and then a short prayer before he began to give his sermon. The congregation remained quiet and Contessina was able to get a look around to see where everyone was. Francesco de'Pazzi stood into her right near the center isle and then Jacopo seemed to be standing there with an impatient look upon his face. This was typical for the old man as he never had any patience to begin with when it came to church. Contessina looked back down at her hands as she pulled out her tiny bible and rosary.

When Contessina looked up again, Francesco had seemingly disappeared and in his place was a monk in black robes. She decided to go back to paying attention to the sermon being given even though she did not care much for religion. She kept up appearances for her family, but in her heart, she did not feel that God was in a building or that a man spoke for him. She decided it was best not to question all the current circumstances since the bishop was sent by Sixtus himself, but that did not keep the nasty feeling in her stomach away.

As the service dragged on, she could feel her legs and feet starting to hurt from the shoes she wore. If she had worn her boots, she would have been more comfortable, but she did not want to hear Clarice complain. If there was one thing Contessina did not like about church service, it was the length of time it took to recite any prayer. The Bishop asked for everyone to bow their heads for the prayer he was about to recite, but just before she did so, she could see someone moving towards her out of the corner of her eye. She tried to ignore the person, but the flash of light reflecting off a blade caught her attention, but it was too late.

"Giuliano!" The sound of blade piercing flesh filled Contessina's ears before Giuliano's sharp intake of breath. She watched as Francesco de'Pazzi stabbed her cousin.

"Giuliano! No!" Lorenzo's voice shouted before a monk came up behind him with a dagger and was able to cut him on the neck. "You cowards!" Everyone in the cathedral started to panic as Giuliano tried to wrestle with Francesco but was quickly overpowered as the wound, he sustained had weakened him. Contessina began to shake uncontrollably as she witnessed her beloved cousin being stabbed multiple times.

"Die! Die! Die! Die!" The Pazzi man said as he pierced Giuliano's chest multiple times before Ezio came out of nowhere and kicked the man in the face before moving in front of Lorenzo to defend him. The dagger that Francesco held was knocked from his hands and thrown towards where Contessina stood looking on in shock.

"Contessina! Go!" She heard Ezio yelled, but she stood there staring at the dagger at her feet. Something dark and hateful came over her before she bent down to pick up the dagger as Francesco got up and pulled another from his belt. "Contessina!"

There was no stopping her as she held the dagger in her hand and let her rage take over. Contessina ran over to Francesco in an attempt to kill the man herself, but she was barely able to block his swing before he elbowed her in the face. The pain made her realize she had put herself in danger and it was not until she felt Francesco grab her that she understood. By that point Lorenzo's guards had come running in followed by mercenaries hired by the Pazzi.

"Don't move Assassin, or I will slit her throat." Francesco held Contessina tight with his dagger at her throat in a threatening position. "My associates and I are going to walk out of here unharmed and if you even take a step closer, she dies." Contessina looked at Ezio with tears in her eyes knowing she had put herself in danger. The look he gave her was calculating rather than upset. He was thinking about his next move before he could make it possible and his next move was getting to her.

"Let him go." Lorenzo's voice said from behind Ezio as the Pazzi and their conspirators left with the one thing he did not want to lose in this. "I need to get home." Ezio turned towards Lorenzo as the cathedral emptied of the panicking people. "To people I trust." The Medici man had his hand to his neck as he looked on his brother's body.

"They have Contessina!" Ezio said in frustration but Lorenzo looked at him.

"Help me and I will help you get her back." The older man said before Ezio unwillingly gave into Lorenzo's demands to get home. Ezio swore that if anything happened to Contessina, nothing was going to stop him from destroying every Pazzi on the face of the Earth. "Had I known you were back in Firenze; I would have known about this."

"I told Contessina to keep quiet about my arrival to Firenze." Ezio answer back as he escorted Lorenzo out into the streets filled with panicked people and mercenaries. War had broken out in Firenze and this not only angered Ezio, but it made him find focus.

"The Pazzi are going to pay for what they have done!" The Medici said upon seeing the chaos in his city. "I swear I am going to kill every last one of them!"

Francesco de'Pazzi was going to pay with his life and Ezio was going to do it himself. The assassin was able to avoid fighting with any mercenaries in the main streets by taking the back alleys, to which Lorenzo seemed to be glad of. However, the Medici man was still wounded, and he was losing blood with every step he took. Luckily, the Palazzo Medici was not much further. As soon as the two men made it to the gates, Ezio started to bang on them fiercely.

"Lorenzo's been wounded! Open the door!" The younger man yelled out as the guards came to the gate and looked through the peep hole.

"What's the password?" One of them asked and Ezio saw the look on Lorenzo's face go from annoyed to furious.

"It's me you Idiot! Open the goddamn door!" Ezio was not sure he had ever seen Lorenzo so angry before, but Contessina told him more than once that Lorenzo had a temper like a volcano. It took a lot to get him angry, but when he did, it was explosive. The gate opened and the two guards inside pulled Lorenzo in with Ezio following. The older man sat down against the wall as Ezio examined the wound. "Get the doctor." He said taking his hand away from the wound on his neck to see it covered in blood. "Those bastards killed my brother and they took Contessina."

"I'm afraid they took Contessina because of me, Signore." Ezio said telling Lorenzo the truth. "You and Giuliano were the intended targets, but Contessina was also a target."

"You knew about this?" Lorenzo said with a glare.

"There was no way to warn any of you in such a short time and I had only found out about the plot last night." Ezio confessed knowing that this could bring on a whole new set of problems for him, but Lorenzo only nodded in defeat.

"Ezio, your father was an honorable man and to see you follow in his footsteps give me hope that Firenze can be saved." Lorenzo said putting a hand on the younger man's forearm.

"Signore Lorenzo!" One of the Medici guards came running into the building. "Francesco de' Pazzi has led a battalion to the Palazzo de la Signoria. He sits up there waiting for you and he has Signora Contessina."

"I must go." Lorenzo said trying to stand up, but he quickly found himself unable to gain his balance before Ezio grabbed on to him and set him back down. "Damn this wound!"

"You cannot go face him with that wound, leave this to me. I have some unfinished business with the Pazzi." The assassin said before turning away but Lorenzo grabbed the young man's arm.

"Find the Pazzi scum and save our city, Auditore." Ezio did not hesitate to leave with a critical plan forming in his mind. Lorenzo's words were solely for him and as soon as he said them, Ezio was given permission to end the lives of several men without consequence.


	16. Breaking Out

**Hello everyone! I know it's a late update, but a lot of crazy things have been happening on my end. This chapter kind of suffers for it because I feel it is a little rushed towards the end. It does feel like a certain part comes out of nowhere and I will probably go back and edit it later, but you know, I do my best. **

**UscJoey: Thank you for your lovely review! I do try my best to blend everything together and give a different look into the universe Ubisoft created. **

**Alli: No worries, I have read an ungodly amount of fanfiction in my 17 years of being on this site. (believe it or not, I've been reading this crap since middle school and that was a long long time ago, I'm old) Please do not hesitate to let me know if anything feels off. I am not above correcting myself : ) **

"Put her in there!" Francesco de' Pazzi's voice rang out through the jail at the top of the Palazzo della Signoria. The two men that held on to a struggling Contessina tossed the woman in with no inclination of reluctance at the other man's order. "I should've slit her throat when I had the chance."

"She is a stubborn one for sure." Jacopo de' Pazzi said looking at the woman in the cell before him. The guards did not bother to undo the ropes that held her wrists together in front of her before they slammed the wooden door shut. "She did some damage I see." The older man looked at the scratches Contessina put on his nephew's face.

"Now that she is in here and unable to bite or claw, we should stick to the plan. I've told Stefano and Antonio to go into seclusion until the Assassin is rooted out. Bernardo is going to leave for safer waters until I give the word." Contessina listened to them carefully knowing this information could be of use later. She regretted her actions in the Duomo now. Not running away when Ezio yelled at her to do so was a poor decision and allowing her anger over Giuliano's assassination to get the better of her was an act of stupidity. "Come, we have work to do Uncle. I have an assassin to catch."

Contessina stood there in the dark cell that Giovanni and his two sons once occupied only a couple of years ago. It was cold and there were no comforts other than a cot to lay on and a chair in the corner. She asked herself over and over again what she had gotten herself into, but she clearly had no answer. Another wave of pain coursed through her at the thought of Giuliano's lifeless and bloody corpse laying in front of the altar in the Santa Maria del Fiore. It was a senseless act of brutality that should not have taken place, yet it did and when Giuliano was unarmed.

An unarmed man cannot expect to properly defend himself from his enemies. Contessina felt tears come to her eyes as she went to the chair in the corner and pulling it to the small barred window. When she lowered herself down on the wooden chair it creaked with her weight as if it were going to fall apart under her at any moment. She wondered if this was how Petruccio felt when he was caged in the same cell with his father and Federico. She thought about how the young boy could have sat in the corner crying while his brother did what he could to console him. She wondered if her fate would be the same as the Auditore, except Ezio. She wondered if Francesco de'Pazzi would have really slit her throat or if it was a bluff.

If Francesco was willing to do so, then he was no better than his son and Contessina regretted her words to the Pazzi earlier in the day. She never thought she could hate anyone as much as she hated Francesco de'Pazzi in that moment. She fought back tooth and nail when he dragged her out of the cathedral which was how she got the bruise on her face and a bloody nose, but she bit him hard on his hand. It was not until he called in his guards that she tried to fight back even more but was stopped when they forced her onto the ground. Francesco held a blade to her throat and threatened her, so she complied much to her dismay. What was she to do? She was unarmed and a woman. Giuliano taught her how to defend herself, but he did not teach her how to hold her own against several men.

How could she have been so stupid to put herself in danger? The thought constantly ran through her mind along with images of Giuliano being stabbed to death right in front of her. Along with those images where the ones of Petruccio, Federico, and Giovanni at their execution. She could no longer keep the tears at bay when she thought of how this could be her last night on Earth. Contessina could no longer hold back her sobs as she grabbed on to the bars and held on to the tight as sobs wracked her body. This was a nightmare in every sense of the word.

In the dark streets of Firenze, Ezio made his way past all the chaos that was slowly becoming a riot. People were gathered in the piazza wondering if the rumors of Lorenzo de'Medici being killed by the Pazzi were true. Ezio knew they weren't, but it seems the Pazzi had taken over the Signoria and trapped the current Gonfalonier within its walls. One rumor was true; and that was the rumor of Giuliano de'Medici. He had been killed on consecrated ground, blessed by a Pope at the request of Cosimo de'Medici in payment for reclaiming Roma.

The act itself was unpopular amongst the citizens of Firenze and they wanted justice. Some were shouting about how they had prospered under the Medici, while others were calling out the sin. It seemed Firenze now knew the truth about the Pazzi family and their intentions for the people. Guards were doing their best to keep the merchants and common folk at bay, but it was no use when they started to throw rotten food at the soldiers. Ezio watched from the far end of the piazza looking for a way through.

"Ezio!" The young man heard his name being called from an alley not far from where he stood. It was La Volpe and the assassin sighed before walking over to the thief. "I do not know what Francesco de'Pazzi has planned for Contessina, but I know for the time being she is safe."

"Do you know where she is?" Ezio asked wanting some clue on his wife's whereabouts. He knew he had to focus on the Pazzi, but Contessina was a priority as well. The problem was that she was also a distraction.

"I do. She is at the top of the Palazzo della Signoria." Volpe told him but put a hand on his arm. "Ezio, do not let your heart rule over your head. Francesco must be dealt with first. I will do what I can to see Contessina safe, but you must focus on what you are here to do." Ezio nodded as the thief gave him a stern look. "Francesco de'Pazzi must pay for what he has done."

"Yes. He must." The assassin said feeling his priorities shift back to where they needed to be. "Thank you, Volpe." He put a hand on the other man's shoulder in gratitude before leaving the alley to find his prey.

Once back in the spot he was before, Ezio spotted Francesco overlooking the crowd from the roof of the Palazzo della Signoria. There was no sign of Contessina and Ezio shook his head to focus. He could not do anything for her until Francesco was dealt with. It was hard, but he could taste the revenge on the tip of his tongue, yet he was fighting internally. Volpe's words kept running through his head and at the same time the thought of something happening to Contessina was hindering those words. He knew better than to let this happen, he was a thinker, not a person who relied on feelings.

"You are going to be the bane of my existence." Ezio said to himself. It was true, he was his own worst enemy in that moment, but he had to put that aside and go after the target. He was an Assassin in that moment, not a husband. Contessina would have to wait and thankfully, Volpe would see to it she was safe.

Gathering up every ounce of willpower to focus and make a move, Ezio started off towards the Signoria with a single goal in mind. He was going to end the life of Francesco de'Pazzi one way or another. He could rely completely on stealth to get to the roof of the Palazzo, but he knew that Francesco would see him coming. Not only that, but there were far too many guards in so many directions it would be hard to climb up unnoticed. They were clearly patrolling the parameter so no one could get past without a fight.

Ezio looked at the rooftops nearby and saw the archers posted every fifteen meters waiting for someone to make a move. They were prepared to fire on innocent people in order to establish rule over Firenze to the Pazzi. This was something that could not happen. Ezio could draw their fire by taking them out one at a time, but he would have to find another way. This was a complicated situation and he was sure if no one below in the piazza acted out, the threat was little more than that. He would have to find another way around to the back of the Palazzo and then up.

Contessina had run out of tears and her head was hurting from the crying she had done. At some point she moved from the chair to the cot and laid down on it only to stare at the wall ahead of her. The blond reflected on the events of the past two days along with her feelings on how quick everything had changed for her. However, she did not get the chance to reflect long before she heard the door at the bottom of the stairwell open. Reaching up to her hair she felt that two of her hair pins were still sitting tangled within her locks and perhaps they were sharp enough to do the job. She quickly reached up and pulled the pins out with a little tug before holding them close in the palms of her hands. She did not know why she had not thought to use them earlier, but perhaps the pins could be used as a tool for escape.

"You think she has calmed down yet?" One of the guards said as Contessina laid there waiting. She could hear their footsteps coming up the stairs and the clink of their grieves as they took one step at a time.

"I hope so. I don't want to hurt the poor thing. She must be pretty valuable if Signore Pazzi wants her." The other guard answered as Contessina closed her eyes pretending she was sleeping. She did not want to hurt them as much as they did not want to hurt her, but when it came to her escape, she would do as she must.

"She is the assassin's wife." The first man said.

"Ah, that makes sense now." The other one said as they got to the wooden door outside of the cell. "That's a shame, she is so pretty." The sound of the door being unlocked filled the room and Contessina knew this could be her moment.

"Pretty or not, we have orders to follow." The hinges of the door groaned as the heavy door opened and she could hear them walking in without being cautious about it. "Looks like she fell asleep."

"Well wake her up." They were both standing over her at this point and Contessina knew this could work in her favor. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Wake up girl." She did not open her eyes and held her breath. The guard tapped her shoulder again. "Girl?"

"Are you sure she is sleeping?" The other man asked moving closer to have a look while she took one of her pins and positioned it in her hand in order to stab one of the men. "I don't think we did enough damage to her to kill her did we?" He said tapping her shoulder one more time.

"Move out of the way." The other guard pushed the one closest to her away and moved his face closer to see if she was breathing. At this point, Contessina's lungs were starting to burn from holding her breath so long, but her trap was working. The moment she felt the man's breath on her face she opened her eyes and aimed for the man's right eye. Her face scrunched up as she let out a grunt before jamming the hair pin into his eye. The man let out a howl as his hand came up to this eye to see what had been thrust into it while Contessina bolted up.

"Ilario!" The other guard said going to the aid of his injured friend as Contessina ran out of the door and shutting it behind her. She quickly turned the key to lock the door, so the guards were trapped in there before throwing the key out of the window behind her. She heard the man yelling in pain within and regretted injuring him for a moment, but then realized it was what she had to do. "You Whore!" She heard one of the men yell out as she descended down the stairs with one pin left to use.

When she got to the open door at the base of the stairwell, she moved to where she could not be seen and took a deep breath to calm herself. She knew there had to be multiple guards out there and she could hear Francesco de' Pazzi's voice giving orders to send more guards up the tower to see what was taking the other two so long. She was surprised that none of them could hear the howls of pain coming from the top. There was the other option of taking the next flight of stairs leading down into the top floor of the Palazzo, but there were likely some other guards there too.

She peeked around the wall to see how many guards were coming towards the entrance and then hid behind the door until they passed her. Four guards walked through the door without even a second look back in her direction before they went up the stairs. Contessina waited a few seconds afterward before moving to the stairs leading down into the heart of the Palazzo della Signoria. With her hands still bound, she could barely hope to be able to do anything about any guards within the Palazzo, but she knew that the Gonfalonier was still inside the building. His guards could be useful in causing a distraction.

As soon as Contessina made her way down to the top floor of the Palazzo, she did not see a sign of Francesco's mercenaries or any other men. She knew the Gonfalonier's office was on the second floor and that was likely where she would encounter some trouble. She had a little hope in the fact that wherever the Gonfalonier was, his captain would not be far behind and Alphonso was not under the thumb of Uberto Alberti anymore. First, she had to get the ropes off of her wrists and the first thing she thought of was right in her face.

Walking over to the nearest sconce on the wall, she held her wrists up to the flame of the candle, but she had to get on her toes to do it. Contessina held her wrists as far apart as the rope allowed so she would not burn herself, yet the heat from the flame was too much. The smell of burning rope permeated the air around her as the twine strands began to char. The last thing she needed was to attract unwanted attention with the smell of burning rope. Contessina winced as the rope began to burn harder and the fire got closer to her skin before she was able to pull it apart enough for the strands to break completely. There was a little redness on her wrists where the rope burned her skin, but overall, she had managed not to do any severe damage. Sighing, Contessina moved away from the sconce before she went to the next set of stairs that led downward.

Contessina could hear the clanking of plate metal as guards patrolled the lower floor causing her to stop and think about her next move. She was not stealthy like Volpe or quick like Ezio, especially with a dress on, but she had to think of something before they discover her presence. As she made her way down the top steps of the stairs, she could see two of the guards talking to one another as they walked out of her line of sight. She thought that if she was quick enough, she could dart down the stairs and into the hall across, but that would cause a ruckus and she would be spotted instantly. Her next best option was to find a way to distract them, yet the only thing she could think of involved burning a section of the palazzo down. However, if it meant her getting to her destination, she was up to the challenge. She decided against the idea though as she was brave, but she was not that brave.

The next best thing Contessina decided on was to slowly creep down the steps until she was able to fully see the guards. Before any of that could take place, she needed something to throw in order to draw attention in the opposite direction from where she stood. She carefully removed her shoes before moving down the steps as silently as she could. Contessina was able to get a better glimpse down the hallway and saw a shield hanging on the wall in the direction she needed to throw the shoe.

There was only one chance to get her throw right and hit her target, so Contessina made her way down to the floor and threw her shoe as hard as she could. The moment she threw it she gathered up her skirts and did not bother to look behind her as the sound of her shoe hitting the wall. Contessina breathed as she rounded a corner to lean against the wall hoping that the guards did not see her. She could hear them asking about the shoe on the floor but did not bother to peek around the corner to find out what they were debating on.

The Gonfalonier's office was just down the corridor from where she stood, but what she had not counted on was the four guards standing outside the door. Contessina could see them from her spot in the dark hall and she counted herself lucky that they had not bothered to look in her direction just yet. It would only be a matter of time before they did look her way, but she could play a panicked woman looking for a way out. Of course, the guards standing at the door probably had no idea she was the girl that Francesco imprisoned at the top of the tower. This could work to her advantage. She was about to move forward when the guards she distracted from earlier came up behind her.

"Well, look at who we have here." Contessina froze at the voice behind her. "A little mouse." One of the guards said.

"Where was the Gonfalonier keeping her all this time?" The other asked. Contessina grit her teeth feeling as though she had no choice but to run. "She is pretty." He grabbed her arm and she tried to remove it from his grasp.

"Let go of me!" She pulled away, but the guards grip was strong, then she tried kicking at him, but it was no use. "Let go of me now!" She did not know what happened, but suddenly their grip loosened on her and the two guards gasped for breath before falling to the ground. Behind her was Volpe who had just removed his bloody knife from the backs of the guards.

"Are you alright?" He asked her and she immediately threw her arms around his neck in gratitude.

"Volpe, you have no idea how happy I am to see you." She said pulling away from the slightly stunned thief. "They have the Gonfalonier locked within his office." She motioned to the four guards standing outside of the office.

"You and I can handle that while Ezio deals with Francesco." Volpe said putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come, we can make quick work of them." He handed her a dagger that he had on his belt. "I'm sure you know how to use this."

"Only a little. I have never had to fight before." Contessina told him with a pang of nervousness running through her gut.

"I saw what you did to that guard in the tower and I think you can handle yourself just fine." He gave her shoulder a pat before moving forward giving her room to follow him. Contessina was slightly shocked at how much Volpe had in her even though she had little ability to fight of a gathering of men.

From that point on, there were few words passed in-between the two as they calmly walked up to the four men guarding the door. Contessina was nervous. She did not want to kill anyone, and she had not wanted to hurt the guard in the tower, but she was a captive. She wanted to survive, and she now had to live with the thought of harming someone. The blond realized that at some point the hair pin she held was no longer in her hand and the other one was still in the poor man's eye. That thought alone made her feel queasy, but she had to focus. Contessina knew that Ezio was focusing on his task and so should she.

Contessina watched as Volpe went up to the guard closest to him and slit his throat effortlessly. The sight of blood gushing from the man's throat gave her flashbacks to Giuliano's murder as blood gushed from his chest. The thought made her go still as Volpe had become surrounded by the three remaining guards. She clenched the dagger in her hand tight as the sounds of fighting echoed through the hallway around her. Her breathing had gone from slow to quick in a short time while her heart pounded in her head. She could not focus as the world around her turned red and a white-hot rage boiled up from nowhere just like in the church.

Contessina yelled out in fury before she rushed over to one of the guards and began to stab him in the back repeatedly. Over and over again as each stab brought the images of Giuliano, Federico, Petruccio, and Giovanni into her mind. She kept going, feeling the sorrow and anger mingle into one emotion as the man collapsed on the ground. Contessina kept stabbing the man even as hot tears began to pour from her blue eyes and at some point, she closed them as she kneeled down on the ground sobbing with a bloody dagger in her hand.

"Contessina?" Volpe's calm voice brought the blond woman on the floor back to reality after he had finished off the last two guards. "Contessina, look at me." She slowly lifted her wide eyes to him as he knelt down in front of her. "Now is not the time for tears. Pull yourself together." He put his hands on her shoulders and lifted her up with him.

"I... don't know what happened." She said before wiping her tears away with her sleeve.

"It is a natural reaction. The emotions will pass in time, but we must focus on the safety of the Gonfalonier." Volpe told her as he moved to the door which was locked from the outside. "This is a slight problem."

"Where is the key?" She asked trying to calm her shaking hands as she looked at the bodies at her feet. "One of them must have it." Contessina began to pat down the bodies looking for a key, but a few moments passed by without finding it. "There is no key."

"Francesco or Jacopo must have it." Volpe said.

"Then we must wait for Ezio to do his part." Contessina said taking a deep breath to calm herself after the ordeal she had just gone through. She wondered why it had happened so fast and why she had that reaction. It was not like her in the least, but she would have to think on it later.

She moved over to the wall and slid down it before looking at her hands. They were not completely covered in blood, but there were small droplets and her dress was ruined now. There was no way of getting blood off of it. She had not wanted to kill anyone in her life, but now she had and now it was beginning to sink in. She had taken someone's life without a second thought and in a blind rage. Was this how Ezio felt when he killed for the first time? She looked at the palms of her hands which were figuratively and literally covered in a man's blood.

Contessina wondered if the man had a family or if he was a loner. Perhaps he was just following orders, but in the moment she did not care. All she cared about in that second, she chose to take another life was that she was going to avenge her loved ones. Did she avenge them thought? No, she did not. This man did not kill her cousin or the Auditore. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps it was her anger that helped her to get the job done. She could not say for sure because she did feel guilty. She felt incredibly guilty.

She ended someone's life.


	17. Bloody Hands

**I hope everyone is doing okay! I am sorry for the really late update, things have been really wild for me the past couple weeks with finals approaching for school (trying to catch up on some late assignments for some classes) and it's been stressful. **

**Also, the trailer for Assassin's Creed Valhalla came out; talk about yes! I'm Scandinavian decent by way of the Anglo-Saxon. So, I am very much into the Danes (and history). I may mix some of that into my future stories. For now, enjoy! We are getting to the next part of Contessina's journey and she has some growing up to do.**

The archers on the rooftops around the Piazza had not seen Ezio coming. He had managed to move in behind each one and use the hidden blade to assassinate them without making any noise. That did not mean he was not spotted by Francesco though. The Pazzi man knew Ezio was on his way on the swift wings of vengeance, yet from what the young man could see, Francesco was desperately yelling at his men over something.

As Ezio moved closer to the Palazzo, he knew something was amiss with the whole situation. Francesco was yelling at the top of his lungs in rage as his own guards seemed to be panicking over what to do. One of them seemed to be clutching his left eye as another helped him from the doorway of the tower. Obviously, the guards were terrible at doing as they were told. They were mercenaries after all. This did not stop the young assassin from claiming the life of his target and with that thought in mind, Ezio leaped from one rooftop to another. He was getting closer and the more he did, the more he could make out what Francesco was yelling about.

"You fool! You were supposed to keep her locked up!" Ezio heard as he jumped from the closest rooftop to the side of the palazzo and grabbing the edge of a window.

"But sir, we did not expect her to be that smart!" One of the men said and Ezio had to smile to himself. "She stabbed poor Ilario in the eye and then locked us in the cell, what could we do?" Contessina had freed herself and Ezio found himself feeling proud of her for that as he reached for the next hold.

"That bitch pretended to be dead!" The cracking voice of an injured man said before he howled in pain. "If I find her, I am going to wring her neck!" He said before there was a greater howl of pain.

"Ilario, hold still! We have to get this out!" The sound of a timid voice full of worry for his friend.

"I should kill both of you for letting her escape, but losing an eye is punishment enough. Get out of my sight!" Ezio could not think of Contessina hurting anyone, but then again, she had tried to kill Francesco earlier in the day. Maybe he should not be surprised at this. "You! Keep a lookout for the boy!" With the shouting of orders Ezio could hear the hurried footsteps of one guard.

Ezio was climbing his way up the side of the Signoria with ease. Years of climbing with his brother had given him the ability to do amazing maneuvers in order to carry out his missions and for that he was thankful. The young man had stealth on his side while Francesco had a loudmouth and the lack of skill when it came to a fight. Just like Vieri. For a man to hide behind a woman in order to get the upper hand on his enemies is beyond cowardice which was something Ezio could not stand for.

"The boy thinks himself a man to come and face me? Ha!" Francesco boasted. "I have something of yours Assassin!" At that moment Ezio knew that Francesco was likely facing the Piazza below instead of the direction he should be worried about. "A rare bloom." The Pazzi man said a little softer.

The guards periodically looked over the edge of the building looking for something amiss and Ezio was able to avoid being seen long enough to position himself right under one such man. The assassin silently reached up to grab the man's belt before pulling him down and off of the building. The sound of surprise escaped the guard's mouth as he tumbled over the side and fell to the streets below without a yell. The move worked better than Ezio had thought it would and he looked at the palm of his hand before placing it back on the brick ledge. He was a little skeptical about it because people often scream when they are falling to their deaths from high places.

The Auditore pulled himself up over the ledge before making himself known. There was nowhere to hide for this and fortunately Francesco's men were subpar in skill. At least that is what Ezio hoped. He knew he would be noticed as soon as he jumped over the ledge, so he opted to taking out his sword as the guards laid eyes on him. Ten against one seemed daunting, although he did have a strategy.

"Get him!" One of the men shouted as they ran at Ezio.

The first one to reach the assassin ran into the fight with a yell of bravery before Ezio parried the poor fools blade sending him into a dive against the brick wall. The sound of the guard's skull thudding against the hard surface almost made the next man hesitate before he lunged at Ezio and the assassin was able to block the attack. One by one each guard met his end as they underestimated the young man in front of them. There was little struggle as Ezio's blade pierced flesh over and over leaving drops of blood on the roof of the Signoria. When the last man fell all that was left was to deal with Francesco, who seemed to be in shock when he noticed his guards had been dealt with easily.

"It's just me and you now, Francesco." Ezio told the older man as he put his sword away. The Pazzi man looked cornered in that moment and that is where the younger man knew he had the advantage. There was no place for Francesco de'Pazzi to go but down and the only way was to leap over the edge of the roof.

"Guards!" The cowardly man yelled out as he backed into the brick parapets. "Guards!" Ezio said nothing as he moved closer. "You think you have won Auditore, but I think not. I still have something that belongs to you." Francesco was playing every card he had in his hand only Ezio knew for a fact that Contessina was not in the Pazzi clutches then. If anything, she was doing what she thought to be right. "If I die, so does she." The Pazzi bluffed.

"Contessina can take care of herself. I'm here to finish what you started Francesco." Ezio did not hesitate to move in closer before grabbing the older man by the cloth of his chest and looking him in the eyes. "The Pazzi will pay for what they have done to Firenze and to the Medici."

"Your family is full of traitors, Auditore. They betrayed Firenze by supporting that fool Lorenzo. We only desired to bring stability to the people of the city, but Lorenzo will bring it down." Francesco defended his cause, but Ezio was not going to entertain the man. "You should have died with them!" The Pazzi man kicked at Ezio's shins causing the younger man to lose his grip on Francesco before the older man made the daring move of diving off the building.

Inside the Palazzo Signoria, Contessina stood at the door of the Gonfalonier's office ready to knock on the heavy door. She hoped that someone would talk with her and give her an idea of where she could locate Alphonso. Volpe stood behind her as she beat her knuckles loudly against the wood and then she heard scuffling from the inside. Looking back at Volpe with concern etched across her face, she knocked again.

"Gonfalonier! It's me! Contessina de'Medici!" She waited for a moment before a man answered back.

"How can we be sure that it is you?" The Gonfalonier's voice questioned with skepticism. Of course, he was right to be cautious as he was in a precarious situation. "Or that the Pazzi is right behind you forcing you to say something." The man said from the other side of the door.

"Messere, believe me when I say the Pazzi do not get to tell me what to say. They can go drown in the Arno for all I care." Contessina spat out in disgust at the thought of the Pazzi forcing her to do anything against her will. She had already been through enough in the last few hours. "I promise you there is no one here but myself and an ally." She said leaning up against the door.

"Very well." She heard the sound of the door being unlocked. It seemed as though the Gonfalonier had locked the guards out of his office instead of what she and Volpe first assumed. Contessina looked at the master thief who shook his head knowing that the party inside were counting their blessings. When the door opened, the man she knew as the Gonfalonier gave her a relieved look. "How did you come to be here child?"

"It is a long story, Messere." The blond woman said as the older man opened the door wider for her to slip in followed by La Volpe. "Are you alright?" She asked looking around the room to see two other members of the Signoria and Alphonso sitting in a chair with his hand to his side. "Alphonso?"

"Signora Contessina, you are alive." The poor captain of the guard gave her a pained smile seeing her relatively unharmed. "Where is Lorenzo? Is he safe?"

"I do not know." Contessina answered honestly not knowing if her cousin made it from the Duomo without injury. "I believe he is, but I was taken from there by Francesco de'Pazzi and held hostage in the cell at the top of the Palazzo." She said moving to kneel down by Alphonso's side to look at the wound he was holding. "Let me see." There was no way of preparing herself for what she saw. Alphonso's wound was deep and bleeding profusely to the point where she knew it was a long chance of recovery.

"I know it looks bad, but it feels much worse." The man said with a pained chuckle. "Fiora will not be pleased with me."

"Save your strength." Contessina said with a small smile on her face before standing up to speak with the older gentlemen in the room. "Are you all unharmed?" She asked the three noblemen who stood in front of the desk.

"Yes, thanks to Alphonso. He warned us just in time before Francesco's men came, so we barricaded ourselves in here." The Gonfalonier said. "You disposed of the guards outside?"

"Si, Messere. It was no problem for us." Volpe said putting a hand on his chest in respect. "I suspect that there may be more trouble soon, so be on your guard."

"Are there any guards left in the Palazzo?" Contessina asked wondering if there were still men available to help guide them out of the building without issue. "Anyone who can get word to the Medici forces at least?"

"The Pazzi have men all over the Signoria." Alphonso spoke up from where he sat with a pale face. "If you can reach Ludovico on the first floor, there may be a chance of calling in for reinforcements if there are any." Contessina looked over to Volpe who nodded in confirmation before walking out of the office.

"Firenze is doomed." One of the older men said. The Medici girl did not know every member of the Signoria, however the ones she knew well enough were not standing in the room with her. "If Lorenzo is gone, there is every chance Sixtus will take over our city."

"Ser! that will not happen. Not as long as Lorenzo de'Medici still fights for us. I have every bit of faith in him just as much as I do my husband, who is fighting Francesco de'Pazzi this very moment." Contessina said boldly hoping that Ezio was doing just as she said he was in that moment. "Do you trust what I say?"

"No offense Signora Contessina, but you are a woman. How can a woman know so much about politics?" One of the older men said but she sighed knowing that her own gender was considered unhelpful in all matters besides raising children.

"She is a Medici." Alphonso's voice rang out even though it was laced with agony. "I have come to find Medici women are a force to be reckoned with." Contessina turned her gaze to the wounded man who was slumped over in the corner. "Especially this one who is married to an Auditore of all families." She dared anyone to say something wrong about the family she married into.

"Auditore?" The same old man asked looking at the other two men he stood with. "The Assassin?"

"Enough fools!" The Gonfalonier silenced the two men at his side. "It does not matter which family she belongs to, only that she is here, and she is willing to fight for Firenze." The man said walking up to Contessina with a small smile on his kind face. It was clear to her that the Gonfalonier was the on their side and not an enemy of her husband or Lorenzo. "I know it is not a woman's place to fight the battles of old men, but I would have you call upon the people of Firenze." The Gonfalonier grabbed Contessina's bloody hands and held them dearly. "You will speak for Lorenzo de'Medici." Her eyes widened.

"What? How can I speak for him?" She was taken aback by the words the older man spoke and almost pulled away.

"All you need do is to reassure the people that Lorenzo is alive and well." Contessina blinked trying to find the words to answer with, but they were stuck in her throat. She knew Lorenzo had been wounded in the cathedral, however she had no idea how severe the injury was. For all she knew Lorenzo could have bled to death before reaching the outside steps of the building. She looked down at her hands still in the grasp of the man before her. The blood had dried, and she felt sticky, almost like a humid day.

"There may not be a need too." Volpe's voice interrupted. "Look." Contessina looked over to the thief who stood looking out the window down below. She had no idea when he had moved, but then again, Volpe was light of foot. "Jacopo de'Pazzi is causing a commotion."

"What?" The Medici girl pulled her hands away from the Gonfalonier before moving to the window to see Jacopo riding through the piazza chanting to the crowd. "What is he doing?"

"Trying to turn Firenze against the Medici and to the Pazzi by preaching about liberty." Volpe told her with a side glance. The two of them watched as the old Pazzi man rode his horse back and forth in front of the crowds before all came to a stop. "I believe Francesco de'Pazzi is not a problem anymore." Volpe said as the people in the crowd looked up in the direction of the side of the building with gasps.

"Ezio." Contessina whispered quietly as the thief beside her put a hand on her shoulder. She watched as Jacopo de'Pazzi rode away in fear of his life while the crowd began to erupt in cries of joy.

"Come, we must leave." Volpe said pulling her away from the window. "We will send a doctor to tend to Alphonso." The thief said to the three old men in the room before having Contessina follow him out. She followed without question as Volpe lead her to the first floor and down through the back entrance of the building.

"Where are you taking me?" Contessina asked as the thief opened the door and looked out into the alley behind the Signoria.

"Ezio knew about the plot long enough and about Francesco's plans to take you hostage. I was supposed to free you myself, but you did that yourself." Volpe gave her a proud smile when he turned back to look at her. "You are very clever Contessina."

"Or stupid. I ran right into Francesco's trap." The blond girl said as her companion motioned for her to follow him out of the door and into the night air. The sounds of the crowd cheering from the other side of the Palazzo gave Contessina chills knowing that they applauded the death of the would-be rulers of Firenze. "Dio, Volpe, I was such an idiot for daring to avenge Giuliano when I had no real experience."

"That may be, but you have a spark of rage in you and it does come to use from time to time." Volpe said leading her through the dark streets that lead around the Piazza without gaining attention. "Temper that rage, and you will become dangerous."

"I don't want to kill people if that is what you are hinting at." She would not be an assassin like her husband. She was prepared in sharing her life with Ezio and helping him with whatever he needed, but she would not kill another person; guilty or otherwise. She looked down at her hands still covered in the dried blood of the man she killed earlier feeling the gravity of her remorse. Contessina was sure that her hands had never harmed anyone before, but in one night she injured one man and killed another. The question she had for herself was whether she could live with it or not.

"I am not hinting at anything. You are free to decide your future and I believe that future is waiting for you elsewhere." Volpe said nothing more as he moved ahead of her towards the direction of Leonardo's shop. "For now, you will be safe with a mutual friend of ours."

"Leonardo." Contessina sighed in relief when she realized her friend's home was likely the only safe haven in Firenze at that moment. The artist was more than happy to help in a time of need and at that moment she needed Leonardo to offer his shoulder.

The journey to Leonardo's shop was quicker than Contessina thought it would be. During the walk neither she nor Volpe spoke much after the first conversation between them. Knowing that Volpe was there to protect her from any Pazzi supporters amidst the chaos gave her a little comfort. When she arrived at Leonardo's door, she turned to her mentor who seemed to be concerned about her, but his expression changed to a look of pride.

"We will meet again one day, Contessina. In the meantime, if you need anything all you need to do is to write to me. I have contacts all over Italia, but you already know that." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Remember what I have taught you." He grabbed her small hand and brought it to his lips. "Farewell, Signora Medici." Contessina stood there with a sad expression on her face as Volpe turned away from her to disappear into the shadows of Firenze. She knew she would see him again, yet she did not know when.

The Medici girl turned back towards Leonardo's door and lifted her bloody hand to rake her knuckles across the wood. As soon as they made contact the door opened to reveal Leonardo himself with a slightly shocked expression on his face at her appearance. Her hair was likely disheveled and the blood on her dress told a story that was more or less dramatic than her normal adventures. Overall, Leonardo seemed to put all his thoughts together before his eyes softened into concern. To be honest, Contessina was grateful that the artist was isolated from the affairs of the families of Firenze. She did not waste any time when Leonardo opened his arms to her with a compassionate look in his blue orbs. The girl began to weep as she embraced her friend.


	18. Renato

**I was actually planning to upload this chapter on Friday, but I decided to give it to you guys now. I have to say, this chapter may be a little slow, but the romantic tension here and the end is worth it. The next chapter will be up before next week (hopefully) and it will be a bit more on the romantic side since this marks the beginning of Ezio and Contessina's life together. **

**You can be damned sure he isn't leaving her again after this.**

**Thank you for your review Shadowwolf1997! To answer your question, hehe, you will see. We will see Renato in the future, and he will be trouble. **

**I hope you are all still doing well! **

There was a sense of calm that came over Ezio when he saw Contessina's sleeping form on the small sofa in Leonardo's workshop. The artist assured him that the blood on the dress draped over the chair in the corner of the room was not the girl's and the assassin was grateful to hear it. The fire kept her warm at least, even though she seemed to shiver every now and then as he kept watch over her. Ezio had not meant to come in so late and Leonardo had been more than welcoming despite the time.

The artist sat nearby with a cup of wine in his hand as Ezio moved the thin fleece blanket up to cover Contessina's shoulders. He looked over to where Leonardo had placed a pitcher of wine on the table and a glass next to it. Wine was the furthest thing from his mind at that moment, but he did not want to insult Leonardo's hospitality by refusing the offer. So, the assassin moved to the table and poured himself a glass of red wine before making his way to the empty chair across from the artist he called a friend. At first, there were no words spoken as Ezio's gaze occasionally wondered to where Contessina slept. Sometimes she would whimper in her sleep, but that was to be expected. The only other sound was the crackling of the fire and that was somehow comforting.

Ezio knew he was not going to sleep the rest of the night even with the wine or the bread and cheese that he filled his hungry belly with. He was exhausted for sure, but for some reason he could not bring himself to close his eyes, so he sat there with the artist. This was perhaps what he needed. He needed a way to calm his mind and body from the events of the night and when he heard his wife whimper out again from her dreams, he felt the need to be closer.

"When will you be leaving Firenze?" Leonardo asked and Ezio turned his attention back to his friend.

"As soon as I speak to Lorenzo de'Medici and find the whereabouts of the conspirators in the attack." Ezio replied looking down at his half empty glass of wine. "Jacopo fled."

"But Francesco is no more." The artist replied to Ezio's comment before giving a nod. "What of the other conspirators? Do you know who they are?" To this, Ezio did not know the full answer, but he knew who would. He sipped on the glass of wine in his hand and then looked to the fire with a thoughtful gaze.

"Lorenzo should know something." The young assassin put his empty hand to his chin wondering if the Medici was willing to work with him or not. Chances are Lorenzo would because of their close ties, but the timing was not good. With Giuliano's death the Medici were in the mood to hang first and ask questions later. Perhaps staying in Firenze for a few days could not hurt in order to gain the intel he sought. "I was going home to Monteriggioni in two days, but it seems I will be staying a little longer." Ezio looked over to where his wife laid sleeping more comfortably.

"Perhaps that is best." Leonardo stood from his chair to pour more wine into his glass. "Poor Giuliano. To be slain in a sacred place on the day of sacrament and unarmed. I'd have never thought the Pazzi family would stoop so low, nor the Pope of all people give their blessing." The artist said shaking his head almost in disbelief. Ezio did not put it past the Holy See to convey their agenda, however there was no doubt in his mind that Firenze was going to be under fire.

"Contessina will want to stay until after the funeral." The young man was growing tired as the wine began to relax him. "I won't deny her the chance to say goodbye to her family either."

"In the meantime, Ezio, you are welcome to stay here." The painter offered and Ezio nodded his head before leaning back in the chair even further. He was exhausted and at the same time his mind would not let him rest.

Sometime in the early hours of the morning Leonardo had gone off to be leaving Ezio to find a suitable place to sleep. The strangest thing was that the young man could not find it in himself to leave Contessina's side or leave the chair he had been sitting in. Every now and then he would reach over to the logs stacked on the side of the fireplace and throw another on the fire, but overall, he did not leave. Eventually though, he felt his body give up an relax. He did not know if it was the wine or if it was the crackling of the fire, but his mind wondered off into different places before he finally fell asleep.

When the light of dawn had found its way into Leonardo's shop, Contessina found herself coming to the waking world. Opening her eyes, she saw Ezio's sleeping form slouched in the chair beside her with his side facing her. She had already fallen asleep when he had come in, but she had known he was there. She had briefly woken up when he adjusted the blanket that kept her warm. She sat up with a groan feeling the soreness from the all the activity she had endured from the night before. Contessina was sure she had a few bruises on her arms from being handled roughly by the mercenaries, but she was no worse than before.

The blond girl adjusted the strings on her shift before standing up with the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and hopefully Leonardo had a spark cloak lying around. Contessina did not want to go back to her family in such a state as she was now. Her hair was an untamable mess at that moment and with no hair tie around it was likely to be painful when she could manage it. Instead of bouncing waves of bright gold her hair was almost the texture of straw and she could not stand it. She hoped when she returned to the Palazzo Medici that a bath could be drawn. She moved over to the table to pour herself a glass of water but as she passed Ezio, his eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at her.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked her with a gruff voice as she made to grab another empty glass and poured water into both. Two years ago, Ezio would not have woken for anything, however it seemed he had become a light sleeper since leaving Florence. She wondered why it was so but did not dare to ask him.

"As well as to be expected." She said taking a glass in each hand and bringing one to him before sitting in the empty chair next to him. "Why here?" Contessina asked her husband as he sat up straight and drank the water. "Why bring me here and not to my family?"

"I asked La Volpe to bring you here and then I'd take you home, but when I arrived you were already sleeping." Ezio sighed before resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward with a pause before he spoke again. "I didn't want to wake you." He put the glass down on the floor with a small smile.

"I wish you did." She looked over at one of Leonardo's unfinished paintings in the corner. She focused on it hard seeing the lines of the portrait and the different colors reminding her of a story she had heard as a child. It was all surreal. Then she snapped out of it to look down at the half full glass of water clutched in her hands. "I dreamed of them." She rubbed the beveled glass with her thumb as she looked lost in thought. "Your brothers and father. This time Giuliano joined them." Contessina could not look Ezio in the face as she felt hot tears come to her eyes.

Ezio did not say anything and she did not want him too. Instead she heard the creaking of the chair as he reached over to take the glass out of her hand and place it on the floor next to his. She moved her eyes to him as he stood up and held his hand out to her as if he were asking her to dance, but the look in his eyes said that was not his intent. Contessina did not know what her husband had in mind, but she took his hand and he pulled her up to meet him. The blanket she had around her fell from her shoulders back into the chair as she found herself being pulled into a tight embrace. It was a good thing Ezio had removed all of his weapons or else she would have been poked with something unpleasant, however that did not occur to her.

Nothing felt more real now than Ezio. He was there offering her the comfort she wanted from him, but at the same time she was afraid that he thought of her differently. The thoughts of the loved ones they had lost flew through her mind once more causing her to wrap her arms around him as tight as she could. Contessina felt a new wave of tears cascading down her cheeks as she rested her head on her love's chest. The two of them stood there for a few moments before she felt him kiss her temple, something he had rarely done in the past, but now she was beginning to think he did have feelings for her. However, those thoughts were overshadowed by the grief in her heart knowing Claudia, Maria, and herself was all he really had now.

"None of it went to plan." Ezio said to her as he entwined a hand within her tangled hair. "I thought I could get to them in time, but I was too late." It almost sounded like he was putting the blame of Giuliano's murder on himself, which was not like him and she pulled back a little to lock eyes with him. "Francesco had planned for the Medici's downfall for months and he failed at his own plan. Lorenzo lives, but Giuliano payed the price and I am sorry that I could not save him."

"You saved Firenze." Contessina said with a sniff. "Giuliano's death was not in vain and if he could have fought back, if he had a weapon with him, he would likely be alive." She put a hand on Ezio's cheek as he looked into her blue eyes.

"I do not deserve you." Ezio said as he put a hand on top of hers and began to lean towards her lips.

"Good morning." Leonardo's voice rang out through the workshop just as Contessina closed her eyes in preparation for Ezio's lips meeting hers. They snapped open and she immediately felt her cheeks going hot as blood rushed into them. Ezio seemed to put a distasteful glare on his face as the artist came down the stairs with a seemingly innocent smile on his face. "I see you two are doing well."

"Leonardo." Ezio said drawling out the vowels of the artist's name with a slouch of his shoulders. Contessina backed away and went back for the blanket in the chair she had sat in earlier.

"You look well too, Leonardo." She said quickly wiping the tears away from her cheeks with the sleeve of her shift. "You look refreshed." Contessina gave her friend a smile before looking back to her husband who seemed to be displeased with the inconvenient arrival of one Leonardo da'Vinci.

"I think so, but I am always in good spirits." Leonardo said as he made his way over to the couple standing in the middle of his workshop. "Anyways, I am in need of some more pigments for a commission and I must go for a while, but you are both free to stay as long as you like." He put his hands together with a bright smile that Contessina adored.

"Grazie, Leonardo." Ezio replied looking back over to her and then to Leonardo again.

"Before you go, do you happen to have a spare cloak I can borrow? I do not think it would be appropriate for me to walk home in nothing but a shift." Contessina asked. She watched as Leonardo put a finger up with a thoughtful look on his face before disappearing into the room to the right.

"I know I put it around here somewhere." She could hear the painter moving around in the other room as Ezio stood next to her with his arms crossed.

"Will you come with me to Palazzo Medici?" The blond woman turned to face Ezio with a sad look on her face. "I don't know if I can face my family alone." After Giuliano's murder, she did not know how her family were coping. She also knew that this would likely be her only chance to say goodbye to Giuliano.

"I will go with you." Ezio said as he reached for her hand. "I think Lorenzo will not be the same man as he was yesterday." He confessed to her as he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "He will have the entire Pazzi family erased from history."

"Surely not. How can he say such a thing when his own sister married into the family?" Then she realized what she had asked and the implications of Giuliano's death at the hands of Lorenzo's enemy.

"The same reason I am hunting down the Pazzi is his motive as well. I do not know Lorenzo to seek vengeance so much, but I do not know him as well as you do." Ezio said to her and she nodded as he brought her hand up to his lips.

"Firenze is not going to recover well from this, is it?" Contessina asked her husband as he pulled her along with him towards the table.

"No, I don't think so." The assassin said honestly as Leonardo came out of the room with a dark red cloak draped across his arms.

"Here, I think this will work well for you. Don't worry about returning it any time soon, you may keep it." Leonardo said with a smile as he handed it to Contessina and watched as she removed the blanket from around her to put the cloak on. It was a soft velvet material and it was a little big, but it covered her well. "I have no use for it, but it does suit you well." The artist put his hands together in appreciation of her.

"Thank you, Leonardo. For everything." She said moving to the man and giving him a hug before going back to Ezio's side. The assassin began to put on his gear and weapons as Contessina clipped the gold brocade together in order to keep the clock closed.

"I must go now, but I hope you will come visit me soon." Leonardo said as he walked out the door leaving the Auditore couple to make themselves ready to depart.

There was an odd feeling when the two of them stood in front of the gates of Palazzo Medici. To Contessina it felt like she was just coming for a visit with her husband beside her, but at the same time she did not want to step foot inside. Ezio had not said anything as he stood beside her with a stoic face looking at the large doors in front of him. The two of them had debated on whether they should go in through the garden or the front gates, however it seemed a good idea to formally announce themselves. Contessina did not think it a good idea to sneak her husband into her family's home when they were in the process of mourning.

When the gates opened, Poliziano stood there with a grimace on his face as he saw the man standing next to Contessina. She could tell that the head of staff was not sure about allowing Ezio in to begin with, however, he did so despite how he felt. The dark-haired man cleared his throat before turning away bidding the two Auditore to follow him into the atrium where Donatello's statue of David stood standing as she had always remembered. Would she be so lucky to see it again once she left Firenze for good?

"Lorenzo and his wife are breaking their fast now, however I am sure you know your way around, Contessina." Poliziano said as he turned round to stop the couple. "Shall I have someone draw you a bath?" He asked Contessina who looked to Ezio who nodded in approval. It was obvious she was uncomfortable in her state of dress and of course her hair needed tending to.

"Yes." Contessina answered the man in front of them who immediately turned to the nearest servant and ordered for a hot bath to be drawn. "I should not be long."

"Don't worry, I'll keep myself occupied and out of trouble." He told her taking her hand and squeezing it before letting her go up the stairs to her room. "Poliziano, how is Lorenzo?" Ezio asked the head of staff as he came back to stand with the young man.

"The wound was not as grave as we had thought in the beginning, but he will recover. As for his soul, it is filled with vengeance and paranoia." The dark-haired man said as he placed his hands behind his back. "I have served this family for years, Ezio, but I have never seen Lorenzo change this much overnight."

"Losing a brother to injustice will change anyone, Poliziano." He put a hand on the steward's shoulder knowing exactly how Lorenzo was dealing with the loss of his brother. "I will do what I can to relieve some of the burden as my goals align with Lorenzo's, but I do not want Contessina involved."

"Then you may want to know something of importance." Poliziano put a hand on Ezio's shoulder to guide him to the door that lead to the kitchen. "A letter came this morning from Sixtus. I do not know the contents, but there are rumors of an army gathering a few miles from Firenze."

"I do not think that is a letter of warning from the Pope." Ezio said putting a finger to his chin as they stood by the wall. "The Pazzi will be the least of Lorenzo's problems if war comes."

"If a war does happen, Firenze will be on its own." Poliziano said carefully while Ezio nodded in agreement. There was only one thing Ezio could do for Firenze and that was to find all the conspirators of the plot against the Medici. If war did come to Firenze, he would do what he could to save the city of his birth.

"I must talk with Lorenzo, but not here." Ezio said. "Tell him to meet me at the Ponte Vecchio around noon. In the meantime, if it is not any trouble, I would like to have a meal." The assassin could feel his stomach growling since he had not eaten anything in the last day.

"I will tell him and as for a meal, I'm sure Hugo has something left over." Poliziano told the Auditore with a neutral face before turning away and walking to the staircase. Ezio shook his head before walking through the door of the kitchen and finding Hugo hard at work kneading bread on the table.

"Ah, Ezio! It is good to see you after all this time." The jovial chef said as he worked the dough under his hands. "If you are looking for food, there is bread and cheese over there." The older man said motioning to the cheeseboard on the table in the corner along with a few rolls that had been made earlier.

"Grazie, Hugo." The assassin said moving to the food and grabbing it before going to sit in the garden by himself. Or so he thought. As soon as he left the kitchen, he heard the familiar laughter of his red headed sister-in-law and the giggle of a child.

"Come Renato, walk to me!" He heard her say as he rounded the corner and saw her kneeling in the grass as her son waddled to her with hesitant steps. Ezio could not help but smile as he saw the child trip over his own feet and fall face first into the soft grass with laughter. It was almost like a kick in the gut when the boy stood up again and looked in Ezio's direction. "Renato?" Cammillia's voice sounded a little worried when her son stopped laughing and noticed the assassin standing there with a cheeseboard in his hand. "Ezio?" Cammillia's attention turned to the man and she stood up with a confused look on her face.

"I uh...did not know you were out here." Ezio felt as though he had invaded a private moment then but was relieved when the red head came up to him and embraced him tightly even with the cheeseboard still in his hand.

"Mi displace, I couldn't help myself." She pulled away from him and then looked at him thoroughly before smiling. "You've grown."

"Not by much." Ezio gave her a smirk in return as he looked for a place to set the board down. "I was going to look for you later, but later seems to be now." He placed the board on a bench nearby as Renato toddled up to his mother and grabbed her skirts.

"It seems like it." Cammillia genuinely smiled at Ezio before moving to pick her son up. "Ezio, there is someone you should meet." She said placing the boy on her hip. "Renato, this is your Uncle Ezio." The red head said grabbing her son's hand and kissing the back of it with tenderness. Ezio could see the adoration in her eyes for her son and he almost wondered if Contessina would ever have the same look. "Ezio, meet Renato Auditore, your nephew." She said as Ezio looked at the boy trying to see if there was any trace of Federico or Giovanni in his features. When he saw what he was looking for, Ezio almost wanted to cry in joy that his father and brothers were still there with him in a way. "What is wrong?" Cammillia asked in concern most likely because Ezio's emotions were written on his face.

"He looks like my brother." The Auditore said as he held out his arms to receive his nephew. Cammillia smiled and gladly handed her son over to his uncle who held him awkwardly at first because Ezio had not held a child that small in a very long time, but then he settled into it after a moment. Renato looked back at his mother in confusion, but soon began babbling away as he looked over his uncle's face. There was some recognition on Renato's part, almost like he knew who was holding him even though they had never met. It amazed Ezio to no end that the boy was comfortable with him.

"You are good with him." Cammillia said later as they walked through the garden. Ezio held on to Renato tightly feeling as though he had found his brother again, however the boy was slowly falling asleep with his head on his uncle's shoulder. "You will make a great father someday."

"I'm not sure about that." Ezio said thinking about how difficult his life had been since leaving Florence. Right now, was not the time to think about raising children, but perhaps when the Pazzi conspirators were dealt with it was something he and Contessina could talk about. "Maybe later when Firenze is safe again."

"You plan to come back to Firenze then?" Cammillia asked as she watched Ezio wrap his cape around Renato to shield him from the sun.

"I do not know right now. I don't know where I will be going in the future, only that I have a list of names and I have to finish my father's work. Until that is done a family is not in my future." Ezio said regrettably.

"And what about Contessina?" Cammillia asked him curiously wanting something from him. He suspected that she was wanting a hint as to where his feelings were placed on his wife and he could honestly say that Contessina was all he could think about. "Where does she fit into this?"

"I need her." He said after a moment of thought and then he handed Renato back to Cammillia. "I do not know if I can do any of this without her." Ezio saw the look of contentment on his nephew's face as he leaned his head on his mother's shoulder. The man put a hand on the boy's head and then continued to walk beside the mother.

"You aren't leaving Firenze without her this time, are you?" Cammillia gave him a smirk knowing exactly what was going on in his mind. She had seen that same look on Federico's face several times when he was determined to do something, he set his mind too. It was something in the Auditore blood that made the men of the family strong and the women were even stronger. "In any case, you better take care of her."

"You do not have to worry about that, Milia. She is more likely to take care of me first." Ezio said with a chuckle before leading the mother and child to the kitchen door.

"You really do love her, don't you?" Ezio found he was ready to answer with a definite yes, but instead he chose not to answer her at all. "It is okay, I understand, but you will have to tell her sometime." Cammillia said with a knowing smile. "In the meantime, I'm sure she has told you about my upcoming marriage."

"She told me." He stopped her and then faced her before putting a hand on her arm. "Are you sure this is what you want, Milia?" Ezio asked her in concern. "You could always come to Monteriggioni."

"It is what I want." She said with as much assurance as she could muster. "Paolo is a good man and he will take care of us." A smile came to her lips as she looked at Ezio in the eyes, but he could tell that she was hiding something from him. "It is my choice and I know that if anything happens to me, you and Contessina will take care of my son." The words gave him reason to suspect that she was not so sure on her decision, but he did not say anything against it.

"You are right. I want you both to be cared for and happy, but if something should happen you will send Renato to me." Ezio said making it clear that he was going to take on that responsibility without hesitation and with love. The boy was the most precious person in the Auditore family at the moment. He was innocent and barely two years old with no understanding of how cruel the world could be. Ezio wanted to spare his nephew the horrors of this life he led, so if it meant never seeing the boy again, then so be it. At least Renato would grow up to be something other than an assassin, which was not what he wanted for his own children. If he and Contessina were to have any in the future.

"I will, but it is time for me to put him to bed." She smiled as she reached up to give Ezio a kiss on the cheek. "We will talk more later, I'm sure." Cammillia told him before she went into the kitchen leaving him alone to think.


	19. Closer

**Finals are over! Yay! More time for writing this story! **

**I had plans to go a few more chapters and then start on the sequel, but then after doing some research a new part of the plot has developed and it fits in beautifully with what I want to accomplish so a few more chapters will be added. After that, I will be working on the sequel which will have more events that are historically accurate. As for this chapter, at first, I was worried it wouldn't come out as well as it did, but EMOTION! **

**Enjoy! **

"You've been in there a long time." Cammillia's voice said as she opened the door. Contessina sighed as her friend moved to sit on the stool behind her. "I had time to speak with Ezio and put Renato down for a nap." There was a contrary tone to the red head's voice as she picked up a brush and began to detangle the blonde's unruly hair.

"Did he meet Renato?" Contessina asked as Cammillia pulled on a knot. "Ouch."

"Your hair is the worst I have ever seen it and yes, he did." Contessina could only picture the meeting in her head with little detail, but there was a feeling of jealousy there. She was not there to witness it herself. "He and I had a long talk. I think he means to take you away from Firenze for good." Cammillia put the brush down in order to pick up a bottle of oil for Contessina's tangles.

"Really?" The blond turned around just as the red-haired woman was about to rub the oil into the tangles. "Did he say so?" There was a feeling of excitement billowing up in Contessina's chest almost like when she was a little girl and hearing about something grand.

"He did in not so many words, but I don't think you will have to beg him to take you anywhere." There was a smile on Cammillia's face as she began to rub oil into the blonde's hair. "I am going to miss you."

"Me too." Contessina said turning back around and drawing her knees up to her chest. "I miss Giuliano and he has barely been gone a day."

"Lorenzo instructed for Giuliano to be buried in two days. He would like you and Ezio to be there." Contessina nodded silently as her friend worked on her hair. The Palazzo Medici felt different without Giuliano roaming its halls. "You should go see him while he is still laid in state."

"I will." Contessina said sadly.

Ezio remained in the garden for a while after Cammillia left him there. He had many thoughts in his head about the next course of action he needed to take, and he needed Lorenzo's help in finding the conspirators. He had sat there for a long time debating on if he should leave sooner than later and if Lorenzo refused to meet with him now, then what? Time was wasting and their enemies were running away. If anything, Ezio was finding himself more impatient than usual to leave Firenze. He was not sure if it was because of his tasks or if it was because Contessina was finally going to be going home with him.

There was that feeling in his stomach that once they left Firenze together, that was it. There would be no turning back for Contessina and that she would be by his side for the rest of her life or his. Ezio did not know what Contessina thought of Monteriggioni, or even if she thought she could fit in there. He was sure the villagers would be happy to meet his wife since they adored him. Ezio had a feeling his uncle was going to give her the job of running the estate since he elected Claudia to run his business. Contessina would be good at it and it gave her something to do besides help him with his work. Ezio found he did not mind the thought of her bossing everyone including himself around.

"Ezio." Lorenzo's voice interrupted his thoughts and the young nobleman looked up at the patriarch of the Medici family with questioning eyes. "May I?" The Medici asked gesturing to the bench that Ezio sat on.

"It is your bench; I'm just sitting on it." The younger man smirked, and Lorenzo chuckled before sitting down next to the assassin. "What can I do for you Messere Medici?" Lorenzo smiled before reaching inside of his doublet for a letter and then handed it to Ezio.

"I thought I would ask your opinion on something." Lorenzo said as Ezio opened the letter and read the contents. It was as Poliziano said to him earlier. Sixtus' nephew Girolamo Riario was marching to Firenze. "Riario is one of the conspirators in the plot against us."

"How so?" Ezio asked as he handed the letter back to Lorenzo who balled it up in his fists. "Unless you are not sure why yourself."

"Riario has been countering every move I made since I took over the bank from my father and his uncle became Pope. He is as ruthless as he is cunning, and he has Imola because of it." The Medici said as Ezio thought carefully of what he should do next. "Your father had tried to prevent the murder of the Duke of Milan on my orders and it got him killed, I do not wish to repeat that mistake with you."

"I have no interest in Riario, if that is what you are asking." Ezio said looking at Lorenzo with sure eyes. "My goals are to eliminate the Pazzi conspirators and do what I can for Firenze while continuing my father's work. That is where our goals align, Messere Medici." The assassin made it clear that he was not going to allow Lorenzo to use him as his secret weapon in a war he did not want to fight. Especially when Riario's only target was the Medici.

"Then we have an understanding." Lorenzo said putting a hand on Ezio's shoulder before standing. "In any case, I invite you to stay here in the Palazzo as my guest until you leave."

"Grazie." Ezio thanked the Medici man. "I would like to pay my respects to your brother, if I may." There was a look that came over Lorenzo's face at the mention of Giuliano. Ezio knew that look well and he knew the feeling that came with it. Such an overwhelming feeling that made the Sun disappear in a person's life only to replace it with a stormy night should not be felt.

"You are welcome to do so." Lorenzo said with a sorrowful smile on his face before he left Ezio sitting there on the bench by himself again. Instead of sitting there waiting for someone to come into the garden, he decided to make his way to Contessina's room.

When Ezio made it to her door, he could hear her moving around inside and he could also smell the lavender oil she used. He was not such a fan of perfumes or scented oils before his marriage to Contessina, but he found he had missed the smell. He sighed before knocking on the door and heard her suddenly scramble around to most likely cover herself before she opened the door. Her eyes went wide when she saw him standing there through the slightly open door.

"Can I come in?" He gave her a smirk when he noticed her breasts were barely covered with her robe and then she moved to cover them up quickly when she noticed him looking. She sucked in a breath when she opened the door further to let him in her room knowing that it was nothing he had not seen before. "Your hair is still wet." Ezio told her when he walked by her to sit down in the chair by the fireplace.

"Of course, it's wet, I just bathed." Her face was red from him setting his eyes on her. Ezio could not help but to think about her being under him at that moment, but that was lust getting a hold of him again. There was no time for the marital relations when there was an unspoken rule between them. "Don't look." She told him while his back was to her.

Ezio had to bite his tongue when he heard the distinct sound of her robe dropping to the floor. He wanted to look, but he was a gentleman and would respect what his wife wanted, however he failed. When he did look, he saw the bruises on her arms, and he became more than concerned. The men who had taken her the day before handled her with about as much care as a sack of potatoes and this infuriated Ezio. He dared anyone to lay hands on his wife like that again. Instead of going to her, he stayed sitting in the chair and let his eyes find something to distract him while she put on her clothes.

"What do you think of Renato?" Contessina asked him as she pulled laced up the front of her black gown. She was curious about what her husband thought of his little nephew. From what Cammillia said, Ezio adored Renato as if the boy were his own son.

"He reminds me of my brother." Ezio's voice came full of longing more than she expected but when she turned around, she found him staring at Sandro's portrait of her. "I wish Cammillia could come with us to Monteriggioni." He said turning his gaze to meet with hers. The look he had in his eyes reminded her of that day in the garden when he proclaimed himself to be Spartacus. The moment that he decided she should be his friend and then the moment he decided that he should give up Cristina for her.

"Us?" Contessina asked him and he nodded. "You are taking me with you?" Ezio did not say anything, instead he stood up and moved over to her before putting a hand on her cheek.

"Is that what you want?" Ezio asked her with his dark golden-brown eyes searching her blue orbs for any sign of an answer. She began to tear up at the thought of leaving to live_ her_ life with him. She smiled and nodded vigorously.

"Yes. Yes, that is what I want more than anything." She sniffed before he grabbed her other hand and held them both in his. "I don't want to be without you anymore." She admitted and sobbed when Ezio put his forehead to hers. At first, she feared he would move away from her on her confession, but instead he brought her closer and when she closed her eyes he inhaled deeply.

"I will never leave you again." Ezio said as he removed his hands from hers and put them on her face. She did not know what to expect from him at that moment but when she felt his lips tenderly placing themselves on hers it was almost as if her heart was going to explode. She reached for him, grabbing on to his arms as he deepened the force of his lips on hers and in response she moaned in satisfaction.

They had kissed like this only once before on their wedding night when he sought to calm her cry of pain when he took her maidenhood. After that things were strange between them, but now she thought she was going to drown in him. She needed air, but she did not want to come up for it. Contessina could stay in the depths of the ocean she was in forever if she could. Her heart was beating like a loud drum in her ears and the feeling of weightlessness overwhelmed her as she lost herself in Ezio's embrace. She loved this man more than anything. She was his and no one else's. When he pulled away from her, she looked into his eyes again seeing the haziness in them. Was he just as dizzy as she was?

Contessina did not receive an answer before she dived back in, crashing her lips to his. She was inexperienced, but Ezio did not seem to mind. Instead he was more than happy to continue only this time his tongue was parting her lips with haste. This had been a long time coming for Ezio. Over the last two years he had imagined this moment several times in his head, but also denied them as well. Every word Contessina had written to him was another word she had etched into his heart. He loves her. He loves her more than he had ever loved Cristina. He loved her when they were children and he loved her when she was not there with him. He loves everything about her and yet he could not admit it to her freely. That sadness creeped up into his mind and he pulled away from her again leaving her with questioning eyes.

"Ezio?" She questioned him with a breathless voice and a confused look on her face when he removed his hands. "What is wrong?" She asked him wondering what it was that she had done to upset him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. No, you did nothing wrong." Ezio stepped back and sighed before moving to sit on her bed. "Contessina, I want you to be happy, but going with me to Monteriggioni will change everything for you." She sat down next to him and he grabbed her hand holding it tight as he began to explain how his new home was different from his previous life of luxury. "The village is small, and the people do not care for the Medici very much, but it's got its charms. There are hardly any servants to wait on you hand and foot like here."

"Ezio, when have I ever cared about that?" She looked up at him with a smile. "I could care less if I have to make my own food or clean my own room. I was born a Medici, but I don't have to be like one."

"My uncle can be a lot to bare though. He might put you to work on some project or something if he feels like it." Ezio told her squeezing her hand.

"I will welcome whatever work he gives me." She gave him a smile that reached her eyes and he knew that she would be able to take on whatever burden she was asked to. He reached up with his hand and put it on her cheek before giving her a kiss on the lips.

"You are not the typical Medici." He said when he pulled away from her with a smirk.

After diner the night before Giuliano's funeral, Contessina walked beside Ezio in the garden. He had been given one of Giuliano's doublets to wear for dinner and while it was not his usual style, he did look handsome in it. Lorenzo had been somber through the whole meal while Clarice tried to spark conversation with Ezio on several occasions. Ginevra seemed to be content with Ezio being there by her daughter's side for the first time in a long time while Cammillia was smiling at the fact the two were finally together. The whole family did not question what Ezio was doing there because they already knew.

"Clarice is going to be taking the children to Pistoia. She is with child again." Contessina said as she held on to Ezio. "Lorenzo believes the boys will be safe there while there is a threat of war." They walked slowly.

"He is making the right decision." Ezio told her feeling that he would do the same if he were in Lorenzo's position. "If you and our children were in danger, I would send you away too." He said openly knowing that Contessina would agree with him. Although the blush on her face said she was thinking of something else. Probably about their hypothetical children that he did not want to think about.

"It is a good thing we don't have children then." She said with a shaky breath not wanting to stir up any kind of argument about the subject they had never really spoken of. Now was not the time to talk about having children when they had yet to tell each other how they felt. Contessina was hopeful that Ezio felt the same way she did and the kiss they shared the day before improved her odds greatly. However, she still had doubts. She was about to say something when Poliziano came up to them.

"Forgive the intrusion, but Lorenzo would like to speak with the two of you in his study." The Medici steward said before motioning the couple to lead. Contessina gave Ezio a questioning look and he responded with a shake of his head, not really understanding what was going on than either.

When they reached the study, Lorenzo was pacing back and forth while a woman sat in a chair in front of him. She had a cloak on concealing her features, but the sight of the chestnut hair falling down past her breasts seemed familiar. Contessina knew this woman somehow and the strange part was that she was hiding something from all of them. The blond looked to her husband once more with a very concerned look in her eyes to which he responded with a concerned look of his own. They were on the same level. Something was going on.

"You asked to see us?" Contessina said causing Lorenzo to stop his pacing and look to the two Auditore in the room as Poliziano shut the door. There was a heaviness to the room that Contessina could not explain.

"What you are about to see does not leave this room." Lorenzo said walking over to the woman and offering his hand to her. Contessina noticed she had trouble standing at first, but when she was upright the blond understood exactly why she was concealing her form. The woman was heavy with child and she knew exactly who the child belonged to.

"Fioretta?" Contessina asked knowing the woman herself and having met her many times. Lorenzo did not seem surprised by this and neither did the woman when she removed the hood of her cloak. Contessina had not seen the woman in many months and now she understood why. She also understood why Giuliano's behavior was different up until his murder.

"Contessina." Fioretta said with a small smile knowing that the blond woman was a friend. "I know it has been some time, but can you forgive me for running off like I did the last time we spoke?" Contessina did not hesitate to leave Ezio's side and embrace the woman before her.

"There is nothing to forgive, but tell me, did Giuliano know?" The blond asked pulling away and putting a hand on Fioretta's arm. Contessina wondered if her cousin did know of his child and if he did, why keep it a secret from his family? Then again, the Medici were not tolerant of illegitimate children. The pregnant woman shook her head with tears coming to her eyes.

"No." Contessina did not hesitate to pull the woman into her arms to comfort her while looking at Lorenzo who seemed to be processing everything. "I wanted to tell him, but I was afraid of what his family might say. I know Giuliano was promised to be married, but I could not ruin his future with a child out of wedlock." The woman said through her sobs and Lorenzo's face went from unhappy to concerned.

"Are you sure the child is Giuliano's?" Contessina heard Lorenzo ask and the blond turned to her cousin with a little anger in her eyes, but she realized why he was asking. Fioretta had an undeserved reputation around Firenze thanks to Vieri de'Pazzi.

"The child is his, Lorenzo. The timing adds up." Contessina confirmed knowing the last day she had seen Fioretta was also the last day Giuliano had seen her as well. That was exactly six months ago and Fioretta was close to giving birth. Not to mention that Giuliano spent every moment he could with the woman. "You do not have to worry, Fioretta, I'm sure Lorenzo will do the right thing." She said pulling away from her friend and looking to her cousin with dangerous eyes.

"I will have a room prepared for you, Signora." Poliziano said from where he stood with a welcoming smile on his face. Contessina could kiss the man for his kindness and the fact that he also knew the truth. Ezio stood there with his arms crossed watching the whole act as if it were some drama written by a poet. Contessina allowed Fioretta to move towards Poliziano who lead her out of the door and into the atrium.

"Lorenzo de'Medici, if you turn her away, I swear you will regret it." Never in his life had Ezio heard his wife threaten her cousin, the Magnificent, with the strict tone in her voice. Contessina had always been a sweet, caring, if not full of mischief, but never ruthless in threatening Lorenzo. She dared it this one time for the sake of Giuliano's child. Lorenzo looked at her with disbelief upon hearing her threat.

"You are threatening me?" The Medici patriarch asked his younger cousin who did not shrink back when he gave her a stormy glare. Contessina was going to stand up to her cousin this time and Ezio found it entertaining. Since when did his wife become such a lioness? "I did not think you had it in you." Lorenzo said relaxing his features and putting his hands upon Contessina's shoulders with a sigh. "She is going to remain under my care until she deems otherwise."

"Good. I'd hate for your favorite statue to come under harm, Lorenzo de'Medici." With that said, Contessina turned around and marched out the door leaving Ezio there with a look of disbelief on his face. Sometimes, Contessina acted like she had never grown up and that was one of those moments.

"She grows bolder now that you are here." Lorenzo said to the assassin as he went to the pitcher of wine on his desk and poured some in a glass for the younger man. "Threatening me is not something she would normally do." He said holding the glass out for Ezio to take.

"She has changed." Ezio said taking a sip of the red wine in his glass. "This is very good." He had to take a moment to enjoy the rich flavor of the wine before drinking some more. "I take it you want to speak with me alone as well?"

"Yes. I have the names of the conspirators." The older man said coming to stand closer to Ezio and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Jacopo fled before we could arrest him, but the others are still in Italia. They have fled Florence, likely taking up residence in Siena or Roma, but they can be found easily."

"That is some good news, but it may take time to find them. Perhaps waiting for them to reveal themselves is the best option." Ezio said putting a hand to his chin in thought. "What are the names?"

"Antonio Maffei, Archbishop Francesco Salviati, Bernardo Baroncelli, and Stefano da'Bagnone." The Medici said and Ezio committed the names to his memory. "I assume you leave Firenze the day after tomorrow?"

"As early as possible with Contessina. I want to be home before dark." Ezio said taking another sip of wine as Lorenzo moved to the other side of his desk to open a drawer and pulling out something of great importance to the assassin.

"When I was a boy, I fell into the Arno almost drowning. The feeling of being too tired to struggle anymore is something I remember the most, but I was ready to accept the peace of a watery death. It wasn't until I opened my eyes to see my grandmother and mother crying over me that I realized I was alive." Lorenzo said recounting a memory that seemed to make no sense to Ezio in that moment, but still, the younger man listened. "Behind them stood a stranger soaked to the bone, but I will never forget the smile on his face when he knew I was going to live. That man was your father and I owe him everything. Since his death, my debt will continue with you as you too have saved my life." Lorenzo handed Ezio a codex page that had seen better days but was in otherwise good condition. The assassin understood now why Lorenzo tolerated his actions in Firenze.

"If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, Messere Lorenzo, don't hesitate to ask." Ezio said bowing his head a little in order to pay his respect to the Medici. He was married to one after all, but he did not want to get into the potential war that was to come to Firenze.

"Find the conspirators and eliminate them so we can both sleep at night." There was no need to ask twice as Ezio was adamant on killing the men on the list as quickly as possible.


	20. Farewell, Giuliano

**This is going to be a short chapter, but it is wrapping up the Medici plot (sort of) involving Florence. I also wanted to close off Giuliano's arc and how it has affected Contessina. We will also be introduced to another antagonist in this chapter who was also introduced in the game, but we never saw his face. All you history buffs out there will know who he is.**

**I would like to thank AFan for their lovely review! I would send cookies, but I will likely eat them before getting around to it. Hehe. **

**I hope everyone is still happy and healthy! **

There was a silence in the basilica of San Lorenzo as members of noble families came to see the last of Giuliano de'Medici. Contessina stood beside Ezio in silence as she watched family after family enter the great hall. She knew they had all come out of respect for Lorenzo more so than his brother, but also that some of the families owed money to the Medici bank. They had no choice but to come and pay respects. Lorenzo stood off to the side next to Clarice and his children while Ginevra stood close to Cammillia. To Contessina's right stood Fioretta with her hand on her swollen belly and tears falling down her cheeks. The blond felt nothing but sympathy for the woman who loved her cousin.

Contessina reached out and grabbed Fioretta's hand in comfort and the woman gladly took the support given from her friend. The blond woman felt her heart breaking for the child that Giuliano would never meet, which began to make her eyes water as she looked on her cousin's body in the center of the cathedral. She could not understand how Giuliano of all people had been snuffed out because of someone's ambitions. Giuliano had been so full of life and vigor that he was the opposite of his brother. When Contessina first looked upon his body, she half expected him to open his eyes and scare her, but it never happened.

Now they were going to put him in the ground next to his father, Piero de'Medici, and their grandfather. He did not belong in the ground or in a marble tomb. He belonged to life itself and the freedoms that came with it. That was what broke her heart the most. Sure, the memories of the Medici were bound to be controversial in the future, but Giuliano was not part of that corruption. He would never be. Contessina's memories of her cousin would be pure and she hoped someone else had the pleasure of knowing him as such.

When all the families left the Medici to mourn their own, Contessina stayed back as Fioretta cried over Giuliano's corpse. Ezio had given the family space by going into the courtyard alone, but he promised her that he was close if she needed him. Clarice had to pull Fioretta away as her cries became hysterical in nature and all the blond could do was watch from where she stood. She had begun to turn her wedding ring in anxiety as the moment approached for her to say goodbye to Giuliano. She was not ready to do so just yet, but she did not have a choice when Lorenzo held out his hand to her.

"Come, it is time." He told her as she looked up at him through her watery eyes and then took his hand as he escorted her to the altar where Giuliano slept for eternity. There she looked upon the peaceful face of her cousin once more as Lorenzo stood behind her in silence. She reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the book of poems she had always read and put it into his hands.

"Don't lose this, Giuliano. One day, I will want it back." She said with a shaky voice as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Requiescat in Pace, dearest cousin." Contessina said before kissing Giuliano's cold forehead.

"What are you doing here?" Lorenzo's voice said as the sound of several footsteps entered the basilica. Contessina looked up to see a man she had never met before entering with several guards behind him. He was tall, dark of hair with the eyes of a power-hungry wolf and he gave off an aura of someone in search of a conflict. "You have no business here."

"Giuliano is not even in the ground yet and you dare to show yourself here?" Clarice said knowing who she was speaking too without a doubt in her voice. "You are not welcome here!" The Medici woman said putting herself in front of her children and next to her husband.

"Peace, I only came to pay my respects and apologize for the death of your brother, Messere Medici." The man spoke, his voice like silver that Contessina did not trust in the least. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Ezio silently come in from the outside upon hearing the commotion within the building. "I swear that is all." There was a convincing smile on the man's face.

"After you post your armies outside of Firenze's gates in threat? I think not." Lorenzo said moving to put himself in the line of fire towards the man. Contessina looked over at Ezio hoping he could diffuse the situation, but instead he kept a watchful eye out. "What is it you hope to gain, Riario?"

"Nothing." There was a pause and then a smile came over his face. "And everything." There was something familiar about the name and she had seen it somewhere before. The sinking feeling in Contessina's gut told her that he was a man to be feared only because he sought power above all. Then it hit her. Girolamo Riario had successfully bought Imola out from under the Medici by sheer genius and a marriage to Galeazzo Sforza's daughter, Caterina. The man before her was as much of a snake as he was ruthless. "That is beside the point, Medici. I have come to tell you that my forces will be stationed a few miles outside the walls of Firenze for the foreseeable future as requested by Pope Sixtus."

"You mean to starve out Firenze?" Clarice asked wanting to know what exactly it was that Riario wanted from the Medici and from Firenze. "Is that it?"

"No, I mean to negotiate first, but if nothing can be reached then, I will take extreme measure to see that the demands of the Holy See are given." Riario said with a sly smirk on his face as he knew how to get the reactions he wanted from both Clarice and Contessina. "Due to your loss, I will give you one month to negotiate terms."

"A loss that you instigated, Riario. I will see that all those involved with the Pazzi and my brother's death are dealt with in _finality._" Lorenzo's voice deepened at the end of his statement giving it a hard edge. Contessina knew from that moment her cousin was not the same man he used to be days ago. Lorenzo de'Medici was becoming something else entirely and it scared her to think he was on the path of vengeance. "You made the mistake of underestimating the Medici."

"Perhaps I did this time, but I am not the sole instigator in this. You know who it is that is the real puppet master in all of this, I'm just a messenger." The man said before giving a chuckle upon seeing Contessina standing by her dead cousin. "I have a message for you as well."

"Speak your message, Messere." Contessina said standing up straight with an impassive look on her face. She would not let this man phase her into thinking he had control of the situation, when it was clear to her, he was boasting his presence to size up his enemies. "I am listening."

"Tell the assassin not to interfere and you will be left alone." Riario said to her with a bow and his eyes bore right into hers making her skin crawl and her stomach turn. She tried her best not to show it on her face, but she was disgusted by the man. "My sympathies to you all on the loss of your loved one." The slimy man said before turning around and leaving the cathedral.

"That_ cazzo_ thinks he can scare us." Lorenzo said as Riario disappeared from view as Ezio came from his own hiding spot to stand next to Contessina with a serious look on his face. "I did not expect him to be here."

"Does it matter? He is giving us time to come up with a plan, Lorenzo." Clarice said grabbing on to her husband's arm as Ginevra came to stand by Contessina. Lorenzo looked as though he were going to harm something then and there, but thankfully Clarice had a tight grip on him. Contessina felt that if that were not the case, Lorenzo would have started gathering his own forces to meet Riario in battle sooner than later. "Lorenzo, please, let us find a solution."

"Damn him!" The Medici patriarch yelled, and his voice rang out through the cathedral drawing the attention of the friars in the corner. Clarice put a hand on Lorenzo's back and began to rub it in comfort before he shied away and walked out of the building in a fit of rage.

"Let him go, Clarice." Ginevra told the younger woman knowing a man in rage was not to be reasoned with until he calmed down. Riario's visit was in poor taste, especially when Giuliano was not yet buried, and the threat of war was in the air. Contessina looked at Ezio who had been silent the entire time knowing that this was a matter for the Medici and not the Auditore. "He will calm eventually." Ginevra said nothing more to the Medici women. Ezio shook his head as Contessina made to say something. He knew she was going to try and argue with her mother at that moment on how best to approach Lorenzo.

Instead of listening to Ezio, she quickly left the cathedral with her mind made up. She could hear her husband's heavy footsteps behind her as he made to catch up, but she stopped when she saw Lorenzo at the bottom of the steps with the merchants of Firenze surrounding him. They all had come to pay their respects to the man they now called the Magnificent. Contessina could not believe what she was seeing in front of her as the common men and women of Florence were reaching out to her cousin with sorrowful eyes.

Lorenzo looked as though he were Christ come again to save the sinners of the land from themselves. If Contessina believed in such things, she would have knelt down and praised God for the second coming, but Lorenzo was no saint. If the people knew what the Medici had done in the past to secure their place in Firenze, they would not be worshiping Lorenzo as they were now. Contessina looked to Ezio when he came up beside her. The look on his face was the same as hers and she felt him grab on to her elbow before he pulled her away.

"We need to leave." Ezio told her as he pulled her down the steps and into a side alley before undoing the first four buttons of his doublet to give himself room to breathe. "As soon as possible."

"What is wrong?" Contessina asked not understanding as he looked around him to see if anyone was near before he moved closer. She could feel a change in the air, and something did not sit right with her on how Lorenzo was acting. Riario's impromptu visit had changed something in her older cousin and with the adoration of the public, she was sure that she and Ezio were going to be caught up in something they could not control.

"Riario is a Templar, most likely working for Rodrigo Borgia and he knows who you are." Ezio said with a protective look in his eyes. Contessina could not help but to agree with him on this as she had already been a target in the past just to keep Ezio from his goals. It would be the same if Riario somehow had targeted Clarice to take away Lorenzo's will to fight and she knew her cousin always put his family first. As did Ezio. She put a hand on her husband's forearm and looked him in the eyes.

"Alright." She nodded in confidence of her decision. "We leave as soon as we can." She smiled at him knowing this was probably the beginning of the rest of her life with him. Somehow this terrified her as much as it excited her even though they had been married for two years.

"I will see you at the Palazzo Medici later." Ezio said before giving her a kiss and then leaving her to go back to her family. All she could do in that moment is watch his retreating form in the alley.

When Contessina had returned to her room in the Palazzo in the late afternoon, she had found Ezio's assassin garb gone and the doublet he wore earlier neatly placed out on her bed. Next to the clothing was a note that read he would be back soon and that she should be ready to go home. This gave her a smile, but at the same time there was sorrow as she was going to have to say goodbye to her family. She wondered if they would miss her or if they were going to be happy for her, or perhaps they were going to rejoice in her absence. She wanted to laugh at the last though because it seemed ridiculous that Lorenzo or Clarice would do such a thing.

Ginevra was a different story. Contessina knew her mother would sigh in relief for her leaving Firenze. The old woman never liked Florence to begin with and the reason was because all that was here for her was sorrow and a family she could not really stand. Ginevra had said many times that she cursed the day she was brought to Firenze and that she knew she was going to die a miserable death within its walls. Contessina hoped that was not going to happen, because she did love her mother even though they did not get along.

She sighed before she started to undo the laces of her dress. There was no turning back now when Ezio was determined to leave the city of his birth for the hunger for revenge. Deep down Contessina knew that Ezio's vengeance was going to consume him and if he did not make in progress on it, she was afraid he would lose sight of himself. Her only hope was that if she loved him enough, she could keep that from happening. She wanted to be the dutiful wife that stood beside her husband like she had been raised to do, but she knew she would have freedom loving Ezio. She felt silly in that moment because she sounded like a little girl who had fantasies of true love.

"Contessina?" She heard Clarice's voice as there was a knock on her door which caused the girl to come out of her thoughts.

"Come in." Contessina said as she pulled the black dress over her head and put it on the bed in front of her. The Medici woman opened the door slowly before coming in and then closing it behind her giving the blond a distinct impression that Clarice was there to interrogate her on Ezio's disappearance. "If you've come to ask me where my husband is, I can't give you an answer because I do not know." The girl said as she moved to the chest at the foot of her bed and opening it before pulling out the satchel she had packed days ago.

"You are leaving?" Clarice asked wanting confirmation on the young woman's intentions while stating her opinion on the matter. It sounded like Clarice was not pleased that Contessina was leaving, but the blond knew the dark-haired woman would not let her go so easily. "You cannot leave when we have just buried Giuliano." Contessina heard the protest in Clarice's voice as she pulled out the blue traveling dress and the velvet cloak Leonardo had given her. "What would he think?"

"Giuliano would want me to live my life instead of mourning him. Just as he would want his family to move on." Contessina said closing her eyes as she felt a pang in her chest and the image of her deceased cousin's face in her mind. He was smirking at her for standing up to Clarice. Even in death Giuliano was there to praise her, even if it was only in her head. "I cannot stay where there is no future for me."

"But what about us? Your mother and Lorenzo?" The older woman asked putting a hand on her chest and gave Contessina a sorrowful look, however the younger woman was wise to what her cousin was attempting. "Have we not taken care of you?" The blond closed her eyes feeling hounded for the last time. "What about Cammillia and Renato? They need you." Clarice said going on and on about how her family needed her there with them, but they forgot about Ezio.

"Clarice! Please let me live my life!" Contessina cried out with tears coming to her eyes. "I have been a prisoner here all of my life." She put a hand to her chest as she began to cry angrily. "Ever since I came here as a child I have been told how to think, how to act, and how to be a Medici. I have been told I should please everyone but myself in order to keep the peace or to be the perfect girl. I'm none of those things." She said as Clarice was taken aback by the words coming from her mouth. "The only freedom I have ever had was with the family I married into and that freedom was taken away. I want it back. I want all of it back." The young woman finally broke down and Clarice did not know what to say as the blond fell to her knees. "I want Giuliano back." Contessina cried as she felt Clarice's arms wrap around her in comfort. She had not expected her cousin to comfort her, but somehow, she had known that Clarice had some empathy despite her cold demeanor.

There had been no more words said as Contessina sobbed in Clarice's arms and when there were no tears left to cry, the two women sat there next to the foot of the bed. Contessina had put her head on her cousin's shoulder as the older woman sat there staring out of the window. The only sound in the room was of the dying fire crackling as the sun began to set. Both women had come to an understanding by the time their tears had run dry. After a while, Clarice spoke.

"Contessina, all this time I thought you were an unruly child with no sense of direction. Now that Giuliano is gone, I see that you and he were free spirits that kept all of us questioning life. I believed God was to be feared, but Giuliano had no fear of him and neither do you. Instead you both walk in his light because you both love life. I became jealous of this because I could not find God in the cathedrals or in books." Clarice said pulling out her rosary and holding the beaded cross in her hand. Contessina did not follow God's teachings like her family had wanted her to for a long time, but she still made the effort to attend church every Sunday. "Can you forgive me for my wrongs towards you?" The blond pulled her head off of Clarice's shoulder and the put her hand on her cousin's forearm.

"There is nothing to forgive, Clarice." Contessina said with a smile as she stood up. "Will you come with me to say goodbye?"


	21. Moonlight Over Firenze

**Hooray! We are at a turning point for Contessina! Yay! *throws confetti* **

**Okay I know some of you are going to spot this as we go on, but yes, the story is sorta taking an AU turn. Not by much. Like I said in the beginning I am going for historical accuracy which means one of my biggest problems with the game is going to be fixed here. That is the death of Jacopo de'Pazzi and Archbishop Salviati who both were executed by mob in 1478. Jacopo died on April 30****th**** (only four days after Giuliano was killed) and Salviati sometime within that timeframe (He was arrested before he could assassinate the Gonfalonier of Florence and then executed within days after) so, I fixed those two things. Don't kill me! Also, I know the previous chapter was not the best one and I will fix that as well. I just wanted to get this baby going. **

**Hope everyone is still doing well! **

Leonardo's workshop was quiet as Ezio stood at the table with a map of Firenze. La Volpe stood to his right while the artist was at his left with Poliziano standing on the other side. On the map was markings indicating where Riario had men watching every entrance from the Arno south and to the east walls of the city. On the side of the cartograph was another map of Italy that laid out where each city and village was along the routes down to Roma.

"Riario has his army here in Galluzzo." Volpe said pointing to the small village outside of Firenze. "My scouts tell me he has no more than four hundred men, but that could change." Ezio said nothing as he put a hand to his chin in thought. He had no intent on fighting a war for Lorenzo, but if Riario was as big a threat as he perceived, then there was a chance the man could pull drastic moves to secure what he wanted. "He also has men watching every gate along the walls. Two men here and here." The thief pointed to the east and west gates. "Four here." Then he put a finger down on the south gate.

"He is keeping an eye on who leaves and who is coming in." Leonardo said with a concerned look on his face. "This could be a problem." Ezio nodded.

"Lorenzo plans to move his family to Pistoia to keep them out of harm's way but doing so may make them vulnerable." The assassin said wondering how desperate Lorenzo was to protect his family he would put them in greater danger. "What of the northern gate? Is it accessible?"

"Riario has a man or two on it, but the river gate could be an option if the city comes under siege." Poliziano said pointing to where the abandoned gate sat on the east side of the city below the Arno. Ezio knew the place well having spent time playing there as a child. "We could evacuate there if need be, or somehow get supplies through."

"That is an option, but what of the roads in and out?" Volpe asked looking over the maps carefully configuring a way to move to and from the city undetected by the roads. "There is a chance there could be blockades."

"I doubt Riario will close the trade routes between Venezia and Firenze. Doing so will cut off trade to Roma as well, not to mention the rest of the Papal States." Poliziano stated without hesitation.

"Not unless Sixtus finds another port to the south." Volpe motioned to one of the smaller ports to the south of Ravenna where supplies could be brought in. "He could also trade with the Ottomans as well, though I doubt it since they are mortal enemies." One religion against the other was enough of a war to deal with, especially since the Holy Roman Empire was out of reach for the papacy.

"We are planning too far ahead don't you think?" Leonardo said knowing that the men in the room were preparing for the worst before any of it could happen. "Perhaps we should take one step at a time and plan accordingly. Who is to say there will be a war? If there is, then we do what we must and if not, then we go on about our lives. For now, the main problem is our home is being watched." The artist said with a clear head and the other three men in the room looked to him in agreement.

"Forgive us, Leonardo, we can get ahead of ourselves sometimes." Ezio said putting a hand on his friend's shoulder with a small smile on his face. Though it was evident Ezio had been thinking about how to deal with Riario's men more than what would happen if there was a blockade. "Back to the real task at hand. Volpe, is there a chance your thieves can distract the men on the west entrance?"

"If we do that it will force more attention on that gate." Volpe said with an understanding glance. "Yes, we can split the attention. Perhaps a distraction on the south gate as well?" He pointed to the south gate.

"It is worth it. I have to get back to Monteriggioni and from there I will find the location of the Pazzi conspirators. Starting with Jacopo de'Pazzi." Ezio said putting his hands on the table and looking each man in the eyes.

"You may not have to look too far; he did not go far from Firenze and he has been seen in Riario's camp." La Volpe said and Ezio's temper simmered upon hearing the information. "He is currently within the walls of the city." Although the news of Jacopo's location had just reached him, Ezio did take into account for the last couple days where he had been distracted by the Medici family. Mainly Contessina only because she was his wife and this was her family, therefore his family too, by marriage. He was not unfair in their grief.

"Then he must be dealt with before I leave and maybe this could be the distraction we were hoping for." The assassin knew this plan was at best unrefined, but it was a plan, nonetheless. He wanted Riario to think he was still within the walls of Firenze for a time and once Jacopo was dead the rest would follow. "Poliziano, go back to the Medici and make sure Contessina is prepared for a long ride. Inform Lorenzo of Jacopo's location and if you can, make it known publicly."

"You want to incite a riot in the streets at night?" The Medici steward asked unsure of what Ezio was wanting but then the smirk on the assassin's face said everything. "Ah, I see. Consider it done."

"I will have my thieves spread the word as well." Volpe said moving to leave the workshop.

"Such haste requires better planning." Leonardo said as the other two men left his workshop. "Are you sure this is necessary and not overdoing it?"

"I'm improvising." Ezio told his friend as he began to roll up the maps. "Jacopo's location was a surprise, but if I can hit two birds with one stone, then everything else will fall into place." He hoped that was going to happen, especially when Lorenzo wanted the Pazzi dead as soon as possible.

"I hope that is the case and we are not making a mistake." The artist voiced his concerns to which Ezio nodded putting a hand on Leonardo's shoulder. There was not much that Ezio was concerned with other than eliminating Jacopo de'Pazzi that night and he would be damned if the old man lived to see the sun rise. By then Ezio wanted to be long gone from Firenze and let the people do as they will. "Good luck, my friend." The two men clasped arms before the assassin left.

Out in the night air, Ezio let out a breath knowing if he could not find Jacopo that night, it would be a long time before the man made himself known again. Therefore, Ezio had to act quickly and force the old man to come out. He did feel that Jacopo did not truly deserve the fate of Francesco only because he was a pawn in a much bigger game, but that did not matter. Borgia and Riario were likely pulling the strings. They knew their puppets were expendable and it seemed as though they were counting on it.

Ginevra's room was warmer than usual for Contessina. The blond girl stood behind her mother as the old woman sat before the fire trying to keep the chill from her skin. It seemed as though Ginevra was growing ill again, but this did not keep Contessina from leaving Firenze. She had made up her mind the moment Ezio came back to the city following leads on his family's murderers. She knew the moment she saw him again after only seeing words written on paper she was done. There was no turning back now that she had placed her heart in his hands. However, Ezio was unaware of the precious gift Contessina had given him and she hoped to tell him the truth someday soon.

"Don't just stand there staring at the back of my head, Giulia." Her mother said before turning around in her chair slowly to look at her young daughter. While Ginevra's hair had greyed, there was still streaks of blond running through it and Contessina remembered a time when her mother had golden locks like hers. She was a small child then, but her mother had taken care of her silken hair religiously. "Come sit with me one last time." Contessina did not say anything when she sat in the empty chair next to her mother.

"Mama," She said turning in her chair to face her mother who still stared into the fire. "Did you love my father?" Contessina had never asked her mother that question, at least, not that she could recall. If she had, she did not think Ginevra answered truthfully. The woman was full of secrets and the only person who knew them was God himself.

"Our marriage, like yours, was arranged." The old woman spoke before looking at her daughter. "When I was married off to the Medici, everyone expected me to do as I was raised to do. I was barely older than you were." Ginevra said clasping her hands together recalling her memories. "Giovanni was a handsome man, but he was stern, and he had a lot of weight on his shoulders. He treated me well, but there was never enough time for me to truly know him. When he wasn't home, he was at Cosimo's side learning all he could, and Piero was jealous of him for that." Ginevra sighed. "Cosimo was a great man, but he pit his sons against one another. Piero was first born, but as you know he was sickly so Cosimo decided Giovanni was to take over the Medici banks. This put the brothers in a war against each other and it was a sorry sight to see when they were together."

"Mama, I never knew Grandfather to be like that to his own family." Contessina had only known Cosimo de'Medici for a short time, but what she did remember of him was that he was old and worn. Ginevra leaned in closer to her daughter and put a hand on top of the young woman's.

"There is nothing Cosimo de'Medici did not do to ensure his vision for Firenze stayed alive. Even if it meant tearing his family apart." Ginevra said gravely knowing that Lorenzo was about to be guilty of the same acts. "If Lorenzo is not careful, he will do the same to his family." Contessina felt dread rise up in the back of her mind as she understood why her mother had not liked the Medici family. "Giovanni had ambition, but he was not willing to sacrifice his family for it. I knew he had affection for me, if not respect, but to call it love was far-fetched. We were good friends and sometimes the worst of enemies to each other. I still stood by him even after the death of your brother." There was a far-off look that came over Ginevra's face and Contessina understood why. She had only been an infant when her brother died from illness and she knew it had devastated her mother beyond measure. "Such a fair boy, my Cosimo. Not a day goes by where I do not think of him."

"Mama, if he had lived, what do you think he would've been like?" Contessina was curious about her brother having never met him and the look on Ginevra's face changed from sadness to contemplating.

"I'd like to think he would be like Giuliano was. Golden and fair with an adventurous personality and a passion for life. Like you." The old woman gave her daughter a smile and put a hand on the young woman's cheek. "Like me." Contessina said nothing more before she moved from the chair to kneel before her mother and grabbed the woman's hands. "Leave this city, Giulia, before it consumes you and takes your spirit away. Don't become like me in my old withered body and look to hope where there is none." The older woman leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I am blessed to have such a daughter as you." Ginevra said as tears came to her eyes. Contessina felt her own eyes water as she placed her head on her mother's lap one final time.

Ezio had found La Volpe in the alley way beside the Santa Croce before midnight right as the full moon was rising above the mountains to the north. The two men hid in the shadows watching for a sign that their target was indeed where Volpe's thieves had said. The church was where anyone could seek sanctuary if they had not harmed a living soul, which Jacopo had not done directly. Yet, Ezio knew there were friends of the Pazzi amidst the priory within the Croce. That in itself gave Jacopo a leg to stand on and a place to hide while in Firenze.

"Tino said the lap lighters return about this time and when they do, Jacopo leaves going towards the south gate." Volpe assured Ezio while looking down the alley towards the side entrance of the church where the Pazzi man had been seen coming from. At first, the assassin had been peeved to hear that La Volpe had been keeping an eye on the old man the entire time, but he realized that he had been busy as of late. "What will you do?"

"I will follow him. If he is going to the south gate, he is going to speak to Riario's men." Ezio looked at the older man next to him before turning his attention back to the door. Thankfully the location they were in kept them well hidden in the shadows of the buildings around them. "I can gather information from there and when Jacopo retreats back within the walls, which is when I will strike. I am sure the mobs will handle the rest."

"No doubt." Volpe said quietly as the silhouettes of the lamp lighters came down the alley to the side entrance of the priory. There were four of them talking about the latest rumors going around the city without any basis and the mention of a new friar coming to stay in Firenze. Ezio looked at Volpe with an interested glint in his eyes but turned his gaze back to the four men standing at the door. The man in front with a lantern knocked on the old wood door before chuckling in response to the other three.

"Let us in already Alberto, we are hungry!" The lamp lighter said before knocking again. "About time, my feet were hurting." He said when the door finally opened, and the four men walked inside without another word.

"Not much longer then." Ezio said before turning back to Volpe.

"Yes, I will go make sure my thieves are ready. When Jacopo is dealt with, give the signal and we will do the rest." The master thief said before putting a hand on the assassin's shoulder and squeezing it. "Good luck, Amico."

"Same to you." The younger man responded with the same gesture as Volpe took the time to disappear into the shadows completely. Not long after Ezio watched as a figure in black robes walked out of the door without putting his cowl up. The assassin barely managed to catch a glimpse of the man's face in the light of the open door before he closed it behind him. Jacopo de'Pazzi was indeed in Firenze and he was not going to leave it alive.

Santa Croce was logistically closer to the east gate and to go to the south gate, Ezio knew he would have to trail Jacopo across the Arno. The closest bridge was the Ponte Vecchio making the trek take a bit longer for both. Going to the south gate did not seem right as to get there he was also going to have to pass in front of the Palazzo Pitti and its many guards. Nothing made sense at this point, but Ezio followed Jacopo anyway. The assassin stuck to the shadows as much as he could as the light of the full moon made it almost impossible to not be seen.

A spring moon was bright, especially on a clear night with not a cloud in the sky. There were advantages to the night as when Ezio could leave Firenze with Contessina, at least they would be able to see where they were going. At the moment, Ezio found it irking that the moonlight made him practically glow in his assassin white robes. He decided that when he crossed the Arno it would be a good idea to trail from the rooftops instead of on foot, especially since the Pitti guards did not have the agility to scale the rooftops.

It had to have been past midnight when Ezio followed Jacopo across the Vecchio with the old man none the wiser to who was trailing him. Of course, with the hood up people would mistake him as a monk out on a nighttime walk with God himself. No one questioned it and that was why the disguise worked well. The gates were not that far off in the distance however there were several guards positioned to where no one could leave or enter without good reason. Ezio found it easy to climb onto the rooftops and follow Jacopo past the Palazzo Pitti, however there was no way for him to get to the wall without having to climb down the buildings and then find the footholds on the wall itself.

There were footholds on the wall, but they were next to the gate where Ezio could be seen. This in itself was a problem because of the moonlight casting its white glow all over Firenze. The goal was not to be seen, yet the pale orb in the sky had it out for the assassin. Luckily, Ezio knew the walls of the city well and there was a small portion of the south wall by the Palazzo Pitti that had a few cracks in its façade. The cracks were big enough to cling on to and Ezio made his way there as quickly as possible before Jacopo reached the gate.

Once up on the walls the assassin was able to see the Pazzi man walk through the gates without interference from the guards. This in itself told Ezio there was a serious lack of security within the walls of Firenze and he was sure Lorenzo would be furious about it, however below the man in the monk robes walked a good distance away outside. Ezio watched as Jacopo moved into the trees about three hundred yards away from the gates and then the assassin made his way down the wall as quickly as he could.

Moving through the trees as quietly as possible, Ezio followed the old man from a good distance so that he could not be seen or heard. Then there was a whistle, almost like the sound a barn owl makes when it is flying overhead. The assassin watched as four men came out of the dense bushes to surround the Pazzi. They all had their arms crossed as the old man shrunk away in fear as the men were strong enough to deliver a killing blow without breaking a sweat. For Jacopo, it would not be hard.

"What news from Salviati?" The man in front of Jacopo said as Ezio ducked behind a bush. "Did the decoy work?" So, it seemed that Salviati was still alive even though there had been rumors that he had been hanged outside of Firenze.

"Si, he is safely back in his villa in Toscana." Jacopo said timidly. "As for Baroncelli, he has fled to Constantinople while Maffei fled elsewhere. I have not heard from Bagnone, though I heard he was in Roma." This was something to go on rather than guessing at least. Ezio could feel successful in gaining that information and it was one step closer to vengeance along with completing Giovanni Auditore's work.

"And what of the Assassin?" The burly man asked pressing the old man for more information. With luck, Jacopo was oblivious to Ezio's whereabouts, however the man knew the young Auditore's face well enough. They had several encounters in the past, none were unpleasant though.

"He is still in the city, but I believe his wife's family keeps him occupied with trivial matters." That is what Jacopo believed having not seen the young man doing anything other than staying by his wife's side as she mourned her cousin. Ezio gave the old man credit for that. "Lorenzo de'Medici has changed though. He has become vengeful as you can see and wishes my entire family wiped from the face of the Earth." The old man sounded like he was terrified, and he should be. He was being hunted down by a ruthless force. "When can I leave Firenze?" Jacopo pleaded. For a moment there, Ezio debated if killing the old man was worth the trouble his conscience would give him, but Jacopo was guilty.

"Not yet. Riario wants to know when the Assassin leaves and who he takes with him." The old man's head hung low in disappointment as he had been ordered to stay in the same city as Ezio Auditore. The assassin himself was fine with this. "Come back in two days' time and make sure no one follows you."

"Si, I will see you then." The old man said before walking away slowly and sadly making Ezio feel a bit of pity for him. The four men disappeared back into the forest without a trace while Ezio followed Jacopo from a distance.

The debate between killing the old man and letting him be devoured by the mob that was to swarm him was going on inside Ezio's mind. On one hand, he did not have to take the life of a pawn who had only been part of a conspiracy and not acted in it. On the other, that sweet nagging for revenge was begging for the feel of impaling Jacopo with a blade. Ezio was a levelheaded man who took no pleasure in killing, but was very good at it when need be, but there was that inner demon within him. It was the demon that all men carried around within them asking for the temptation of something sinful. Morality be damned when it came to that demon and sometimes the young man let that demon get the better of him.

To take a person's life was to play God in the eyes of a human being, yet Ezio acted upon his conscience most of the time. He knew that Templars were out to harm many lives without a second thought, but were they all as evil as his uncle made them out to be? Contessina knew the answer to that as she always saw the good in people, but she did not know the history of the war she was now involved in. In one moment Ezio decided Jacopo was not worth sparing as he could tell Riario something to endanger Contessina's life and that did not sit well with the young man.

Making his way back to where he came from, Ezio scaled the wall as quickly as possible before descending right as Jacopo came into the gates. The young assassin followed the old man for a while before they reached the Ponte Vecchio once again and that was where Ezio was going to make his move. Doing his best to blend in with the shadows, he found a place to grab Jacopo and quietly sink his hidden blade into the man's ribs. This would give Ezio enough time to speak with the old man before he died. Lowering Jacopo to the ground gently, Ezio held on to the dying man as he began to speak.

"I knew you would find me one day." Jacopo said looking up at the face of his killer. "I wanted to help change the world like they had promised, but now I have made a mistake."

"We all make mistakes, Signore Pazzi. That is what makes us human." Ezio said before the man's eyes faded from living to the blank stare of death as blood trickled from his mouth. "Requiescat in Pace." The young assassin said as he closed the old man's eyes. There was nothing left to do but to leave the body where it lied as the sounds of an angry mob spurred on by vengeance for the Medici. This was Ezio's signal to leave Firenze.

Contessina was dreaming when she felt a hand cover her mouth and see the warm glow of a candle from the inside of her eyelids. Opening her blue orbs, she came face to face with Angelo Poliziano who slowly lifted his hand from her mouth and put a finger to his lips. The rest of the house had gone to sleep, and it had to be in the early hours of the morning, but she was ready. She had not changed from her form fitting dress before falling asleep on her bed waiting for Poliziano to come whisk her away to her husband.

She nodded as she moved to put her boots on and place her dagger within them before throwing the red velvet cloak over her shoulders. Taking her satchel, she put it on so it would cross her chest. She did not feel tired in that moment, only excited and terrified at the same time. For all she knew it was a twelve-hour ride to Monteriggioni and she did not know if she would be welcome there by its people. However, she nodded to the steward before following him out of her room, down the stairs, and out of the gardens to the east gate. There was a commotion going on through the city as people were running towards the Piazza della Signoria.

"What is going on?" Contessina asked Poliziano as he led her through the narrow streets. The man did not stop, but he answered her the best he could.

"Jacopo de'Pazzi has been found and executed." He told her as he moved into an alley nearby to where the gate was located. "They hung him from the Signoria next to Francesco de'Pazzi." Contessina could not believe the words she was hearing and somehow, she knew Ezio had something to do with it. This made her hesitate for a moment before following Poliziano to the gate where her husband was standing with two horses.

"Contessina?" Ezio looked at her with concerned eyes and she shook her head to cast the doubts away from her mind. Ezio had not lied to her about what he did and what he was going to achieve. So, why did she doubt him all of a sudden? "Contessina?" She looked up at him having not noticing him coming to stand before her. His hand on her arm made her blink and look up into his eyes where she saw nothing but concern if not worry.

"You killed him, didn't you?" There was no lie in Ezio's eyes when he nodded in response to her question. She shook her head again before coming to accept that Ezio was killing only people who harmed others as he told her before. "On Lorenzo's orders?"

"No. Lorenzo's goals may align with mine, but I do not work for him. If anything, Contessina, I did it for Firenze and that is all." He gave her a small smile of assurance and squeezed her arm to back up his emotions on the matter. Ezio's eyes were genuine and that was all Contessina needed to know that he had the right goal in mind. "I hope you are ready for a long ride."

"Are you?" Contessina said perking up with a smile as she reached up to give Ezio a kiss. The man answered back with a kiss of his own and he pulled her to him. However, when Poliziano cleared his throat they pulled apart with Contessina blushing madly.

"We will continue this later." Ezio said giving her a quick kiss on the forehead and pushing her towards a bay gelding he had bought earlier in the day. She scampered up on the smaller horse that seemed to be quite gentle, but this was a horse that was on loan most likely. Poliziano bowed his head to her as Ezio climbed onto the other bay gelding he had ridden from Monteriggioni on. "Poliziano, if Firenze goes to war send word to Contessina. Use the name Giulia." She snapped her gaze to Ezio as the guards opened the small gate in front of them. "Let's go." Ezio told her as he kicked his horse into a trot out of the gates with Contessina doing the same but slightly behind.

Contessina's little gelding was slower than Ezio's big bay, but he did the trick. The little horse was hardy as they crossed the river heading south and up the hill overlooking Firenze. She stopped and spun her horse around to look upon the city she grew up in for possibly the last time. Ezio had stopped and wheeled his horse around to look at her gazing down at the city where the massive dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore stood out above all else in the moonlight. Firenze was practically glowing in the light of the full moon. She heard Ezio ride up beside her and she looked at him with a tear coming to her eye along with a smile on her face.

"Is it possible to be so happy and so miserable at the same time?" Contessina asked him and he smiled back at her before turning his horse around and trotting off. Giving Firenze one last look, Contessina said goodbye to the Medici and the troubles of Florence before following her husband into the night.


	22. Monteriggioni

**This may or may not be a boring-ish chapter to some of you, but we are getting closer to the end of this story. There are a few chapters left and then we get to the sequel which will be fantastic (I have a lot of events planned that are in between the events of the game) and there will be a lot more relationship woes between Contessina and Ezio. Right now, they are in this honeymoon phase and it may or may not get interrupted by something unexpected. We shall see. **

Contessina sat stiffly in her saddle when they approached the imposing fortress that was Monteriggioni. By all means it was not really a fortress, but it looked like one with its high walls and towers. The cold gray stone on the façade gave the village an unwelcoming feel to the blond causing her to grow more nervous with every step her little gelding made. Of course, Ezio had done his best to ease her nerves during the almost fifteen-hour ride from Firenze. Her nerves never let her relax and her poor gelding could feel lit.

The little horse was exhausted trying to keep up with the larger horse that Ezio rode and Contessina felt sorry for the poor creature. She patted the bay horse on the neck as they came to the gate of the ancestral home of the Auditore family. They rode in at a slow pace with Ezio leading while Contessina trailed behind with her blond hair braided down her back. Surprisingly, there were not many people on the streets when she rode in and she was thankful for that. The people who were on the street seemed to stare in curiosity of the woman Ezio had brought home with him. This made Contessina feel as though she were nothing more than a spectacle for all to see.

"Who is she?" The blond heard as she rode by the tailor's shop where two women were talking amongst one another.

"I don't know, you don't think it's_ her_, do you?" The dark-haired woman said to the auburn haired one standing next to her.

"If it is, we better spread the word._ She_ is finally here." The auburn woman said before turning around and speaking with the tailor as Contessina rode along nervously anticipating some sort of negativity. She nearly started panicking when she turned around to see the two women had disappeared to who knows where.

When Contessina looked forward again she was no longer worried about the two women. Instead she allowed her eyes to settle on the villa at the top of the hill and before her was a fountain with a very familiar symbol carved out of fine stone. On each side of the fountain was a staircase leading up to the next landing where a group of mercenaries stood looking down at her and Ezio. She watched as her husband stopped his horse at the bottom of the first steps and dismounted before she came to a stop next to him.

"Ezio! Is that her?" One of the men from above yelled out with a warm smile on his face as the other two men beside him beamed down with their own smiles. Contessina did not know if she should run, though she would not get very far because her legs felt boneless, or if she should hide.

"Ignore them." Ezio came up to her with a comforting smile on his face as he reached for her waist. He gently helped her down from the little gelding as a young man came running down the stairs to grab the reins of the horses. "They have been waiting to see what you look like since they found out about you." Contessina heard Ezio say as she let him guide her off the horse and set her feet firmly on the ground. "Careful." He said when her legs nearly gave out on her and she grabbed on to his lapels.

"It's been a_ long_ ride." Contessina said trying to right herself and after a moment or so her legs felt like they had bones again. She looked up at her husband's face with nervousness upon hearing the men above talk amongst themselves about how beautiful she was. "Who are they?"

"My Uncle employs them to spy and occasionally fight, but they live here in the village keeping the peace." Ezio said taking her hand as the young man unloaded the saddle bags from the horses before handing them off to a young boy beside him. "Welcome to Monteriggioni, Contessina." He said bringing the back of her hand up to his lips and kissing it.

"It is not what I was expecting." She said seeing the dreary village that could use a lot of improvement. Monteriggioni was a far cry from Firenze like Ezio had told her on the way, but he was working to slowly improve it in any way he could. The village was in dire need of a doctor as several children had been sick as of late.

"What were you expecting?" He asked before bringing her up the steps with him trying to remain hopeful that she was not speaking ill of the place he called home. She smiled instead of being negative.

"I was expecting something different; I suppose. Happy people content with their lives roaming the streets, maybe." She answered him honestly knowing that she had to be careful with her words. Contessina's first impression of the little village was that it was in need of help and like Ezio, she would do what she could to give the people here that happiness.

"It was a long winter." Was all he said as they came to the landing where the mercenaries stood with their arms crossed in front of the couple. Contessina suddenly wanted to hide behind her husband, but she outwardly stood her ground as the men stared her down.

"So, you are the_ bella_ that Ezio's been hiding in Firenze." The tallest one said coming forward with serious eyes that made the woman want to shrink under his gaze. "Ezio goes to Firenze and comes back with a Medici princess all to himself." The man said turning his head to the others behind him with a broad smile on his face. "That lucky dog." The others laughed before walking over and greeting the young assassin as if he were a long-lost brother.

"Gambalto, it is good to see you too." The two men clasped arms as friends do in respect for one another. "This is Contessina." Ezio motioned to the blond woman next to him who instantly put a smile to her face, but it was clear that she was mildly uncomfortable. This was to be expected since she had not left Firenze in years or had really been somewhere without her family there with her.

"Signora, it is nice to finally see you in the flesh." Gambalto said moving to stand in front of the girl and offering his hand for a shake. He was patient with her at least, but Ezio could tell that Contessina was trying to read Gambalto to see if he should be someone to worry about. She smiled a little more after giving it a few seconds and then took his hand. "I am Gambalto Bruni."

"A pleasure, Signore." She gave the man a little curtsey out of respect before smiling at the other men. "I'm sure I will learn all of your names soon enough, am I right?" They all smiled at her with chuckles from their good attitude towards her. Ezio almost sighed in relief as he saw Contessina warm up to the mercenaries and he was sure she would have them eating out of the palm of her hand in no time.

"Gambalto, would you excuse us? I need to speak with my uncle." Ezio did not say anything more as he grabbed on to Contessina's arm and pulled her away from the fawning men. They already seemed to be taken with her and that brought a small tinge of jealousy into the pit of his stomach. Not because they were possible suitors or that she would get more attention from them, but it was the way she handled herself and she was all his. He was jealous of himself, if that was even a thought or feeling. "They like you." He told her as they made it up to the last step before the courtyard.

"That is a relief. For a moment there I thought they were going to chastise you for marrying a Medici." Contessina said linking her arm through the crook of Ezio's elbow. He had to wonder why she thought of such a thing. Most of Monteriggioni were aware of his marriage to the woman they called 'The Medici Princess' or 'The Medici Girl'. Some of the women looked forward to seeing her and there was one little girl who really did think Contessina was a princess. "I'm sure I'm just being silly."

"Not that I can see." Ezio told her as they walked. She smiled at him before stopping to look at the villa in front of her and how badly the façade needed to be repaired. "It is no Medici palazzo, but it has its charms." He smiled down at her thoughtful face.

"Nothing a little hard work cannot fix." Contessina said looking up at him with a smirk. "Is there a garden?" She asked him with a hopeful look in her blue eyes. Ezio had to hold himself back because he would build a garden just to make her happy and just for her.

"There is and I can show it to you later if you want." He told her before walking towards the double doors of the villa. "I'm sure Uncle will want to have a feast to celebrate your arrival." The young man told his wife who gave him a slight giggle upon hearing the words.

"All this for me? Your Uncle sounds like he knows how to have some fun." Contessina said as they stopped in front of the doors.

"Uncle Mario is a very eccentric person and he can be a little much at first." Ezio warned her before opening the door to the villa and allowing her to enter first. The main foyer was big enough to fit a gathering of people within and covered in marble from the top down. On the floor was a large rug with many different shades of reds, blues, and violets that made up a gorgeous pattern accented with gold and silver. She did not know where the rug came from, but it was very old and full of images she had only seen from the shops in Firenze.

"It is beautiful." She said in awe at the room she was in. "The Medici could never find marble like this." She said moving to one of the many columns that lined the room and running a hand over the smooth white marble.

"The marble is from Greece, or so Uncle tells me." Her husband told her as he came up to lean against the same column. She smiled at Ezio before lifting her hand from the marble and putting it on his face. Her eyes searched his for a moment wondering if he felt the same as she did then with all the awe of where she was and who she was with. She loved him more now because he had taken her away from what seemed like a prison. Her castle guarded by dragons. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Contessina said removing her hand from Ezio's cheek and placing it back on the marble column. "I'm just seeing things from a new perspective I suppose." She had to admit that her own behavior surprised her since setting foot in the village and maybe it was because she was not surrounded by Medici. Still, everything was new and different, and changing faster than she could come to terms with. "I feel as though I have to get to know you all over again."

"A lot has changed, but most of it has stayed the same." Ezio said grabbing her hand and holding it tenderly within his palms. "You are still Boudicca." He gave her a smile which calmed her restless spirit and brought back memories of a happier time.

"Well then Spartacus, let us conquer Rome together." She said putting her other hand in his and looking up into his eyes once more giving him a promise of life unending.

"But first, I have to surprise my sister." Ezio told her with a smirk and she watched as he put a finger to his lips and guided her over to a door before moving her to stand behind the wall. "I'll be right back. When I say so, you can come in." She knew what he was up too, and she nodded going along with it.

Ezio walked in the office to find it empty. Claudia was not sitting at the desk as she usually was scribbling away at the ledger, but he heard her voice coming from Mario's study down the long corridor that went behind the parlor and a drawing room. She was complaining about something as usual and he noticed she most likely had the ledger with her as it was missing from the dark wood desk. He stood there for a moment trying to decide if he should sit in her chair or just stand there waiting for her to come in. Most likely she would be occupied with everything else she would jump when she noticed him.

"Put it on the list, Claudia!" Ezio heard Mario yell from his study as the young woman came walking into the room with the large book in her hands. She was so busy trying to remember what it was that her uncle was saying to her in the first place. She placed the book down on the desk before sitting down in the chair and opening it. Taking a quill in her hand she dipped it into the inkwell before looking up and screaming.

"Ezio!" She yelped with wide eyes and a flustered look on her face. Ezio could not help but to chuckle at his younger sister's reaction to him standing there without her noticing. "You_ monstro!_ How dare you sneak in here and scare me!" Claudia said before picking up one of the paperweights on the desk and throwing it at him; thankfully missing him entirely.

"An 'Ezio it is good to see you' or 'Ezio, you're back how was your trip', would've been nice." He said with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest with a small glare. Claudia only matched his glare before picking up her quill again and making a note of whatever it was that Mario wanted done.

"How was your trip to Firenze, Ezio?" She asked with an uncaring tone, not bothering to say anything else as her attention was solely on the book in front of her.

"Productive. Francesco and Jacopo de'Pazzi are both dead, but Giuliano de'Medici did not live to see it." Claudia's head snapped up at the mention of the deceased Medici man and she looked around the room not seeing who she was hoping to see. Ezio knew that his sister loved Contessina with all her heart and thought of her as an older sister, so when she looked up expecting her to be there it almost felt as though she were upset.

"What about Contessina? Is she alright?" The tone of Claudia's voice was one of panicked concern as the girl stood up from the desk. She looked to her brother wondering if he had somehow done something wrong for the Medici girl not to be there with him. "Did she stay in Firenze after all?"

"Contessina is fine, Claudia. She is managing well with the changes and she will be joining us soon." There was a look in Claudia's eyes went from disappointment to at least a little hopeful as he said his wife was going to be joining soon.

"Any notion of when she will be coming so we can prepare for her?" The Auditore girl asked and Ezio shrugged.

"I don't know, but it will be_ sooner_ rather than later." He said hoping his wife caught on to what he was saying as Claudia turned around and went back to her desk. The girl was disappointed for sure but out of the corner of his eye he saw Contessina slowly step into the room from behind the wall she was hiding. "I did bring something back for you and Mother."

"Oh good, I wonder if it's another trinket or..." Claudia stopped speaking when she looked up to see the blond woman standing over by the door with a smile on her face. The dark-haired girl stood up quickly before running to the blond and nearly tackling her to the floor. "You're here! You're here!" Ezio could not help the satisfied smile on his face when he saw Contessina squeeze the other girl tightly.

"I'm finally here." Contessina said as she pulled away from Claudia to look at her. "You've grown up a little since I saw you." The dark-haired girl had indeed gotten a little taller over the last two years and she had developed a beautiful face in the process. Contessina wondered if she had the attention of a man yet, but that was a conversation for another time.

"Oh, Mother is going to be so happy to see you." Claudia hugged the blond woman again before grabbing her arm and pulling her through the door and into the foyer. "Mother! Come see who is here!" Claudia yelled as Ezio followed the two women when they went up the stairs to their mother's bedroom. Maria Auditore came out of her room to see the commotion going on and when she saw Contessina it was like a candle had been lit within her eyes.

"Maria!" Contessina ran to the older woman and embraced her with tears in her eyes. Maria's silent façade cracked a little as tears came to her own eyes upon the blonde's embrace. The girl was her second daughter and the love of her son's life that brought so much joy in the darkness of their lives before it was cruelly ripped away from them.

"What is going on up there?" A voice yelled from downstairs making Contessina and Maria pull apart from their tearful reunion. Contessina looked to her husband and he huffed before looking over the railing and shouting down to the voice.

"Nothing bad, Uncle, I swear." The young man said before leaving the women behind to go join his uncle on the bottom floor. "You might want to prepare that feast you've been wanting. I brought something back from Firenze." Ezio smiled putting a hand on Mario's shoulder and the man's eyes widened along with the grin on his face.

"She's here?" Mario asked and Ezio nodded. "Well then we must be introduced properly!" Ezio could not help but shake his head at his uncle's excitement upon hearing Contessina was there in the villa. It was only moments before she walked down the stairs arm in arm with Claudia while their mother followed behind silently with a smile on her face. Ezio had not seen his mother smile like that in two years so having Contessina there was a blessing. "Ezio my boy, you are very lucky indeed to have such a beautiful woman as your wife."

"She has her flaws, Uncle, but she is one of a kind." Ezio said holding his hand out to his wife for her to join him. "Uncle, meet Contessina de'Medici now of house Auditore." Contessina politely curtsied to her new family member as he took her hand and kissed the back of it with a bow of his own.

"What an honor it is to have a Medici in our family now, even though you have been in our family for two years now. Even so, welcome to the Villa Auditore." Mario said before whistling loudly through the house making everyone cringe at the loud sound as two women and a man emerged from what Contessina assumed was the kitchens. "Prepare for a feast tomorrow! Contessina is finally here." The young woman blushed as her new uncle had plans to celebrate her arrival with a feast.

Later on, Contessina found herself being led by Claudia to the room she was to stay in. On opening the door, Contessina was surprised at the color of the walls in the room. The walls were a soft white that let light into the room and made it look bigger than it was. The four-poster bed was covered in fine blue silks woven with beautiful patterns that reminded her of the fabrics she had bought before. The covers on the bed matched the silks that hung from the canopy completing the look. On one end of the room was a fireplace that had been lit for her and on the other was a wardrobe that had been carved with intricate designs.

"I hope you like it." Claudia said as she stood behind the blond. "We knew you were going to come one day, and we wanted you to feel at home when you got here." The younger girl said moving over to the vanity across from the bed.

"Claudia, this is perfect." The blond turned around and gave her sister a hug before moving to sit on the comfortable bed. "Thank you." She said placing her hand on the silk and feeling the smooth fabric.

"Don't thank me yet, you will have all of Monteriggioni talking before long." Claudia said crossing her arms. "Then I will have to hear about it." She rolled her eyes as Contessina giggled. It seemed Claudia had grown a sharper tongue in the last two years. "Well, no matter, I more work to do now since Uncle decided to plan a feast."

"I do not mind helping you if you need it, Claudia." Contessina did not want to feel useless in her new home, especially since she was educated in the ways of banking like every Medici had been from the time they could speak. The last thing she wanted was to take up space.

"It is no problem. I actually enjoy it and it keeps me occupied." The younger girl said before smiling. "Although, maybe you could come up with a way to bring in more coin. We could use it."

"Ezio said the villa had a garden, could I see it?" Contessina knew that daylight was limited as it was late afternoon, but she felt like a tour of the villa was in order before she went to bed that night.

"I suppose a few more minutes could not hurt." The younger girl said before the blond stood up from her new bed and followed her out the door. Claudia took her to the balcony that overlooked the fountain in the courtyard. "Here it is." She motioned to the dry fountain and the garden that looked very unattended. "We had a gardener, but he was stealing from us, so I had to do something about that. Ever since, we have not had the money to hire a new one."

"It needs to be weeded, but I do see promise with it and the fountain will need to be looked at." Contessina said pitching her knowledge of a well-maintained garden to Claudia. "What would it cost to have new flora brought in?"

"I do not know. I would have to look at the books and see what we can spare for flowers, but the problem lies with finding a good gardener." Claudia thought about a solution for a few moments, but nothing seemed to come to mind for her. "Unless gardeners come flying in free of charge, I don't see how this garden is going to solve our problems."

"That is something we can figure out together, in the meantime, I want to be useful. I may start weeding it myself until we can find a solution." The blond said.

"Why not, it isn't like someone else is going to do it." Claudia said with a sarcastic smile on her face before leaving Contessina on the balcony by herself to look over the garden thoroughly.

Ezio stood in front of the codex pages on the wall in Mario's study as the older man sat at his desk looking through reports from the mercenaries. The young assassin felt at ease with Contessina being in Monteriggioni where he did not have to worry about her. He knew she was under the same roof as he was, but there was a weight that had been lifted off of him. The one thing he did not want was to make her feel as though she was a prisoner here when she was not. If anything, he felt she could bring in some fresh ideas on how to make Monteriggioni thrive the way Firenze did under the Medici family. The people deserved it after living in poor conditions for so long.

"So, Salviati is in Toscana now." Mario's voice came from behind Ezio interrupting his thoughts about Contessina. Ezio turned around and nodded in confirmation before going to sit in the chair next to the desk. "Any ideas where the Villa Salviati is?"

"No, but I know it is not in the Florentine Republic." Ezio said leaning back in the chair with a small yawn. He was exhausted having not slept in over a day, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than to grab Contessina and throw her in the bed. They both needed rest.

"That leaves Siena and closer to home." The older man said putting the reports down. "I'll have the men keep tabs across the countryside for word on Salviati. The sooner he is found, the closer we get to our goals."

"That is not the only thing, Girolamo Riario is threatening to go to war with Firenze, more so against the Medici." This was also one of the reasons Ezio felt relieved to have his wife with him. He did not want her to be caught up in a plot to end her own family because of her name. She was safe there in the village with him. "Lorenzo wants all the men in the Pazzi plot to be executed and Salviati is a member of Sixtus' family. If Salviati is killed, Sixtus himself will direct Riario to raise hell against the Medici."

"That is a problem, but perhaps it is a problem for the Medici to handle alone." Mario said hinting at a plan. "Perhaps sending Salviati's body to Firenze may spare us in the long run while still keeping to our agenda."

"Firenze cannot go to war with the Papal States and knowing Lorenzo, he will not bow down to Sixtus' demands without a counteroffer." Ezio leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. He was trying to strategize Lorenzo's moves along with the Pope's. The only insight he had into Lorenzo's mind was Contessina. "I will handle Salviati, but I must talk to Contessina first."

"Do you think she can be of help in this situation?" Ezio nodded in response to Mario's question before standing up and stretching. "Va bene. We will speak on this later, for now go rest. There is much to do in the coming days."

"Goodnight, Uncle." Ezio said as he left the study and walked up the stairs to the room that his wife occupied. It was so easy for him to just walk in and see her standing there braiding her hair as she stood by the bed. She looked at him with tired eyes as she finished tying her long braid together before walking over to him.

"You look dead on your feet." She said as she started to take off his bracers and cape before moving to his belt and putting it on the table by the window.

"I feel it." Ezio said as he allowed her to undo the buttons of his robes and then making him sit on the bed to remove his boots with a little difficulty. "How do you have all this energy?" He said groggily as he fell back on the bed as she put his boots on the floor next to the door.

"I don't, I'm just really good at hiding how tired I am." She said before moving to the bed to find Ezio already sleeping. "This is going to be an awkward situation." Contessina said nothing as she walked around to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers back before slipping into the sheets. She did her best to avoid hitting Ezio's head with her feet, but she supposed he would wake up eventually and find his way to her. Before laying down, she bent over and kissed him on the lips. "Goodnight, Spartacus." She said as she laid back onto her pillow after blowing out the candle.

She did not see it, but Ezio smiled in his sleep.


	23. Unspoken

**I don't know about you guys, but I am about ready to slap myself. I almost went off my outline for this chapter. Bad me for straying away from the outline, but I went back to it. This chapter is not really that centered on the historical part, but it is more about internal conflict. New things are happening that will be a test for Contessina's will power and how she deals with her new environment. In other words, she left one fire and jumped into another, this time it is more personal.**

**Please leave a review and let me know how you guys are doing! I like to hear from you! **

The feast that Mario had gone on and on about the day Contessina arrived in Monteriggioni was nothing more than a dinner between the family. That did not mean that she was not suspicious of what he really had planned in the weeks following the dinner. Every morning she walked through the quiet streets of the little village trying to get acquainted with the people, but they all seemed to avoid her at best. Every now and then one of the womenfolk would smile at her as she walked by, but that was all. It was as though she were not welcome into this small world of theirs because of her maiden name.

Contessina found it difficult to walk through the streets after a couple weeks of feeling shunned and invisible. She wondered if she even belonged there at all, but when she brought up the subject to Ezio, he was very sure that the people were glad she was there. He also seemed a little concerned at their behavior since when he spoke to some of the villagers, they seemed to be genuinely excited about Contessina. If anything, he expressed his confusion over the matter to her himself. This did not dull her concerns, but she at least put herself to work by beginning to weed out the garden herself.

She was not the queen of gardening but having spent time with the Medici gardener as a child gave her some knowledge on the subject. She had spent many mornings as a child speaking with the gardener about the different flowers that grew there and what it took to keep them alive. Now she was recalling these things to benefit the village, if not her own sanity. Within the two weeks she had been there, she had properly weeded the west side of the garden which allowed for the growth of the flowers already planted. Taking a step back from her work, she felt accomplished in her task.

"This is looking better by the day." Ezio said coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist before giving her a kiss on the cheek. She put her hands on his and leaned back into him, smelling the musk he gave off. He had been practicing his combat skills again, but the smell was almost intoxicating to her.

"If I can weed it all within the next couple weeks, I may be able to have it survive the winter without issue." She said looking at her handiwork and then down at her dirty hands. "What about you, any word on Salviati?" Contessina asked him before turning around in his arms.

"That is what I'm here to tell you." Her face fell as she realized the news was going to take Ezio away from her for a day or two. "We found him." Ezio told her before pulling away. "I leave tonight, and I will try to be back in a day or two."

"So, I get the bed all to myself tonight?" She said with a smirk on her face and he was caught off guard by the question. Contessina laughed before giving him a kiss. "I'm only joking."

"It didn't sound like a joke." Ezio responded before kissing her back with a little more force behind it. He was sure that if he went any further than kissing her at that moment it would be a disaster. So, far she had not given him any indication of having intimate marital relations besides their wedding night. He did not want to push her either. Ezio loved her and respected her enough to let it be her choice, just like he had been taught to do by his parents. "Will you see me off?" He asked her breaking the kiss.

"Of course. Why would I not?" She said giving him a very endearing look that seemed to go through his soul at that moment. The blond put a hand on his chest feeling the warmth he gave off and his hot-blooded nature kicked in at that moment. He had to restrain himself from acting on those urges, especially when she smelled so sweet with her natural scent and the smell of earth on her. "You will be careful, won't you?" She asked him with pleading eyes.

"I will do my best." The smirk that Ezio plastered on his face made Contessina glare before she hit his arm in protest to his remark. He knew she did not take what he did for a living lightly, but sometimes he did, and she often protested.

"You better come home in one piece." She jammed her finger into his chest with the glare still on her face. Ever since coming to Monteriggioni, it was as though the weight of the world had lifted from her shoulders and Ezio could tell. "I mean it." He smiled before grabbing the back of her head and locking his lips with hers. The groan she made heated his blood and he did not know how much longer he could go before something had to be done. He had to tell her soon.

"If I don't come back in one piece, what will you do Contessina?" Ezio asked her when he pulled away leaving her a little breathless. It took her a moment to think and he could see her eyes darting back and forth in thought before she answered.

"I don't know, actually. I did not think that far." Contessina almost put a finger to her chin, but she looked at how dirty her hands were. "I should go clean up before you leave." She said with a smile before she reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

Ezio watched Contessina as she walked away in her dirty green dress with her braid swinging side to side with the movement of her stride. Over two weeks they had learned more about each other than they had in their entire lifetime, regardless of their marriage. Contessina smiled more; not the suppressed smiles she put on when she lived in Florence, but the kind that reached her eyes. When she did smile, her blue eyes lit up with a life he had never seen within them before. That in itself was enough to make his heart beat a little faster when she entered the room.

He was acting like a lovesick dog and he did not know what to do about it. Contessina was a distraction when she was around. Ezio's entire thought process halted when she was near leaving him to tread high water and pull himself out. There was no going back now that he had finally admitted to himself that he did love her unconditionally. He was still in that stage of life between growing and finally growing up. At sixteen he thought he was a man, now on the cusp of being nineteen he felt like a twelve-year-old boy who fell for every woman he saw. The only difference was he was well on his way to be the most wanted man in Italia. Ezio shook his head realizing there was a lot more to love than what his parents presented to him.

Contessina stood by the fountain at the top of the first landing in the village square watching Ezio adjust his horse's tack. The big bay gelding was fidgeting because he knew he was about to go somewhere. She had been told that the horse was from Portugal and had been in a war or two before coming to Italia. Contessina could think of no better horse for Ezio until a better one came along. She made her way down the steps to see the horse up close before putting a hand on its roman nose.

"I never asked what his name was." Contessina said as she noticed Ezio looking at how she stroked the horse's nose. The gelding was gentle for a warhorse and it was impressive that he calmed down at Contessina's touch.

"Uncle calls him Orgullo." Ezio told her as he rubbed the horse's neck. Orgullo was enjoying the attention from the blond woman as the young man went back to making sure everything was correct. "Uncle brought him from Spain years ago."

"Once a warhorse, always a warhorse." She said scratching behind the old gelding's ears. "He must be getting tired now." Orgullo bumped his nose against her when she stopped scratching, longing for more attention and she switched to his other ear. "He has a personality for sure." She said with a smile as Ezio came up to her.

"He can be a pain." Her husband responded with a smile of his own before grabbing her hand. "Will you be alright while I'm gone?" There was that concerning tone laced in his voice again. Of course, she would be alright, she survived in Firenze for two years without him. What was two days? She sighed.

"Ezio, I'll be fine, but will you be alright without me?" The mischievous smirk that came across her face made him close his eyes and sigh in return. She could see him trying not to say something he might regret later along the lines of being without her. He was holding in his emotions then, because just like her, he was bursting at the seams. Instead of saying anything he grabbed on to her waist and pulled her close before kissing her again. This time he put a lot of energy into it. Contessina's mind went blank and she suddenly forgot about everything in that moment except for the man kissing her. He had such a hold on her it was unbelievable as to how deep her love went towards him; for him. When Ezio finally pulled away from her, she was left breathless again and it did not go unnoticed that he was in the same state.

"It's only for two days." Ezio gave her a smile. "I think I can manage after that kiss." He said before pulling away from her and climbing onto Orgullo's back. The bay gelding nickered knowing he was about to go on a journey somewhere outside of his stable for once. "Stay out of trouble, Contessina." Ezio said turning his horse around.

"When have I ever been trouble?" She said loudly as he rode out of the village. Contessina smiled to herself as she watched him trot through the square and towards the gates without a backwards glance. Her question went entirely unheard except to those standing in the streets with strange looks on their faces causing her to blush. She quickly turned away to go up the steps but found herself coming face to face with Mario. "Uncle!" She yelped and almost fell backwards, but the older man caught her by the elbow. "You scared me." Contessina said placing a hand on her chest to calm her breathing.

"Mi dispace, Contessina." He said politely with an apologetic look on his face before looking off in the direction Ezio rode off to. "There he goes again. If I were younger, I would go with him more often."

"I'm sure he would appreciate it too. He speaks so highly of you that one can't help notice that admiring gleam in his eyes." She told Mario who seemed to be dismissive of it in a humble way of course. "What have you been up to today?" Contessina asked her uncle as she clasped her hands together and began to walk with him as he went down the steps.

"Settling matters with the local farmers. I am more or less the sole means of protection to the local farms and there is always someone causing trouble." He said with a chuckle as they reached the bottom step. "One person accidently misplaces a goat, or a pig and they scream theft while another is facing a grain shortage. It is always one thing after another, but such is the life in Toscana." Contessina smiled as Mario talked about his duties as a sort of 'magistrate' to the area. He was very tolerant of the people and from the last two weeks he cared deeply for the farmers and people in his village.

"Ezio said there was a grain shortage last winter. How are the crops looking for this year?" She asked as they walked through the square together. The two women she had seen the day she rode in were standing by the tailor again talking to one another with smiles on their faces before saying something to the tailor. Contessina paid them no mind as she was more interested in what her uncle had to say.

"Better, thankfully. We had more rain this year and let us hope it continues into the summer." He said waving to one of the young women who bowed her head in return. "What of you, niece? I see you toiling around in the garden trying to bring it back to life. Can you make it beautiful as it once was?"

"I don't know, but I will try." Contessina gave him a smile. "It gives me something to do at least, though, I really hope it will be spectacular when it is done." She could not help the proud smile that came over her face at the thought of her work attracting folk from across the Italian countryside. "Claudia thinks it a waste of time and money, but I'm certain it will bring in revenue." The blond woman had high hopes for her garden project, and she would be damned if she let anyone get in the way of that.

"I believe you." Mario told her with a genuine smiled stretched across his face. "When I was a boy, Giovanni and I played in that garden from dawn until dusk pretending to be knights on crusade." For a moment there was a faraway look on his face as he told her of his memories. "Happier times." He said with a shrug as a woman came running up to him in huff. Contessina saw the deep worry in the woman's brown eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. Her hair was wrapped up in a cloth and she wore an apron around her waist that was covered flour just like her hands. "Goodness, Nannia, what is the matter?" The older man said looking at the huffing woman.

"It is Fiona, no one can find her." Contessina saw the worried look on the woman's face as she straightened up after breathing a little. "Rita hasn't been seen all day, or for the last few days for that matter."

"Forgive me, but who is Rita and Fiona?" Contessina asked giving the woman a questioning look herself. "I know I have not been here long, but if there is someone in trouble, I would like to help." The woman looked Contessina up and down trying to measure her worth. The blond knew that there was likely a bit of animosity going around with the women of the village, but she wanted to prove herself.

"Tell her, Nannia. She is here to stay." Mario said to the woman in front of him with a hard look in his eyes. It was obvious he would not tolerate any badmouthing of a family member and Contessina was a good woman. Nannia sighed and then looked to the young woman standing next to the Auditore man.

"Alright." The woman said. "Fiona is a little girl no older than six and she lives with her grandmother, Rita." Nannia's reluctant tone told Contessina that she was not trustworthy enough to know the names of the villagers.

"If we are going to find little Fiona, I suggest you two split up. Nannia, gather some of the women and search everywhere." Mario said giving orders to the woman in front of him before turning to Contessina. "I will go see to Rita." The older man said as he began to leave the two women in the square. Nannia looked at the blond with a scowl on her face at the prospect of having Contessina meddle in the affairs of the village folk.

"You should go back to the Villa where you belong, Medici." Nannia's tone was spiteful but this did not phase Contessina in the least. Instead, the blond found herself wanting to fire back. She held off spitting venom to the other woman before saying something more diplomatic.

"I know you must think me some Medici princess who sits around and toils over needlework all day, but I promise you that is not the case." She said giving Nannia a honest look. "I'm not here to order people around or have things done for me. I am here because I love my husband and his family." She said aloud and then her eyes went wide upon realizing the words that came out of her mouth. Contessina put a hand over her mouth trying to stifle the gasp that was about to make its way out of her. The look on Nannia's face changed from distrust to a look of surprise at Contessina's absent minded confession. "Mio Dio..." The blond said breathlessly after moving her hand and blushing.

"You love Ezio?" Nannia's eyebrows shot up when she asked the question and Contessina said nothing as she nodded slowly. "Ha! Now that is something." The woman started to cackle before walking away. "So, do half the women in this village." She said with her back turned. "Fortuna is laughing at you, Medici. You are going to have a fight on your hands." Then all at once, Contessina's emotions plummeted to her stomach as doubt of Ezio's love came crashing in.

Women were vile to each other when it involved a man's affections. Contessina knew this and she sometimes wondered if Ezio still loved Cristina or if he had at all kept in touch with the Vespucci girl. Part of her wished she had stayed in Firenze at that moment. Nannia's words affected Contessina so deeply that she questioned herself on if fighting for her husband's affections was worth it.

The Sun was almost to the horizon when she snapped out of her trance and began to walk up the steps to the Villa. Contessina felt pulled to the garden again as it was her place to sit and contemplate all that had been said to her. Weeding seemed especially tempting as she wanted to relieve some of the tension within her instead of crying. She thought about going to sit in silence with Maria, but for some reason, she wanted to suffer alone in this. How did one woman's words turn her into a complete wreck? Was it because she secretly doubted her own love? No, she was certain beyond a doubt that her heart belonged to Ezio.

So, what was it that had her reacting the way she did? Contessina could only guess as she came around the corner of the villa where the garden laid. The sight of all her hard work gave her a little comfort as some of the flowers were beginning to come back now that the weeds were gone. She took a little pride in that at least. However, the doubt did not seem to go away, and the words spoken by Nannia buried deeper into her mind. The woman was going to be a thorn in Contessina's side.

She was about to get on her knees and continue weeding when she heard the faint sound of someone sniffing towards the other end of the garden. In the red light of the sun, Contessina could barely make out the small form sitting on the bench by the statue of Aphrodite. The figure was definitely a child, a girl by the looks of it, with dark curly hair that went midway down her back. If Contessina had to guess, this was Fiona. The missing child.

The blond woman slowly walked over to the girl on the bench trying not to startle her. She felt that if she scared the little girl, Fiona would run and then the search would continue. This was not the case when the girl looked at Contessina with the most pitiful look she had ever seen. It was as if the girl was looking for her in some way and she was sure Fiona came here for refuge away from the sorrows at home. For a moment, the blond woman wondered what story the little girl had to tell, but she dared not ask.

"Fiona?" Contessina asked as she approached the girl, who slightly scooted herself further down the bench thinking she was in trouble. "Please, stay right there." The blond held out a hand to stop Fiona. "I'm Contessina."

"I know." She said sniffing and wiping her eyes of the tears that fell. "You're the princess Ezio brought home." There was a hiccup and then Fiona scooted back to where she sat at first. She was very well spoken for a girl her age.

"I am no princess, but if it pleases you, I will be." Contessina said as she stepped a little closer to the girl. "May I sit down?" Contessina asked trying not to intrude on the six-year-old who nodded slowly in response. The blond sat down on the bench next to the little girl and looked at the sunset with all of its colors. "So, what are you doing in my garden?"

"Ezio said I could come here whenever I wanted and that you wouldn't care." Fiona said pulling her knees up to her chest. Her little dress was in taters and her hair was knotted beyond belief.

"I suppose he is right about that." Contessina said looking down at the girl with a small smile on her face in hopes of giving Fiona some comfort. "I would never turn away a friend of Ezio's" She dare not touch Fiona yet. As much as she wanted to lay a hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her, Contessina knew that doing so would be a violation of trust.

"Grandmother wouldn't wake up." The little girl said burying her face into her knees as she began to sob. "I kept shaking her and shaking her and she wouldn't wake up." Fiona said through her cries as she began to lean over towards Contessina. She was looking for comfort and the woman put an arm around the girl as she cried.

"It's alright. I'm here." A complete stranger in every sense, but of course, Fiona knew Ezio. It was not a long shot to guess that the girl was now completely alone and while the village women did keep an eye on her, it seemed they did little more than that. If they had bothered to realize one of their own had been absent for days before realizing it, there were several problems going on within.

After a few minutes, Fiona had climbed into Contessina's lap and continued to cry. The blond had wrapped her arms around the little girl and held her tight while sobs wracked her little body. She was small for a six-year-old. Contessina remembered Bianca's daughter, who was also named Contessina, being a bit taller than Fiona at that age. Perhaps it was the lack of good nutrition and poor living conditions, but it was concerning. The one thing Contessina gathered was that Rita had taught the girl to speak well and that was something rare among the common folk. She made a reminder to herself to inquire to Mario about Rita's past later.

In the meantime, the sun had dipped far below the horizon when Fiona's sobs ebbed, and she had gone limp in Contessina's arms. She had cried herself to sleep and the woman carefully arranged Fiona in a way so she could be carried inside the villa. Contessina put her forearms bracing against Fiona's bottom and let the girl's head fall on her shoulder before she slowly stood up. Walking inside she was met with Claudia who seemed to do a double take when she saw what Contessina had in her arms.

"What on Earth?" The younger Auditore said as Maria appeared from the sitting room upon hearing Claudia's remark. "Where did you find her?" The dark-haired girl said with a soft tone as to not wake Fiona.

"She was sitting on a bench in the garden." Contessina said as Maria came up and moved a lock of Fiona's dark hair away from her face. The look on Maria's face was that of tenderness upon seeing the child's dried tear streaks. "Apparently, Ezio told her she could go into the garden any time if she needed too."

"That sounds like him." Claudia told the blond. "He has a soft spot for Fiona." All Contessina thought about when she heard that was having a little girl for competition over his love. God help her if she and Ezio ever had a daughter. "You should bring her back to her grandmother."

"I don't think that is possible. From what Fiona told me, Rita may have passed away." Contessina said with a sad look. Claudia sighed upon hearing the news and then looked down at her feet while Maria put a hand on Contessina's arm in comfort. "She can stay with me tonight. I don't think she will want to be anywhere else."

"Very well, I will go fetch Uncle and tell him Fiona is here." Claudia said with a particularly drab tone in her voice about having to do any extra work. The Auditore girl turned away leaving Maria and Contessina standing in the foyer together.

There was not much else to be said as Maria followed Contessina up the stairs and into the bedroom where a fire had already been lit for the night. The blond carefully laid the sleeping girl on the bed before removing the tattered dress that Fiona wore. Maria said nothing as she brought over the water basin and a few squares of cloth to wash away the dirt on the girl's feet and hands. Contessina went over to the wardrobe and dug out one of her husband's clean shirts for Fiona to sleep in. Of course, it was going to be a little big on the girl, but this was all she had to work with until the morning.

There was a knock on the door a few minutes later as Mario stuck his head in. Thankfully, Fiona had already be cleaned up and Maria was gently tucking the girl in before giving her a loving kiss on the forehead. Maria gave the blond a comforting, yet prideful look as she walked by giving the young woman a light touch on the shoulder before leaving the room. Mario wasted no time in going over to the little girl and watching her sleep soundly.

"I am grateful you found her." Uncle said quietly before moving to stand at the foot of the bed where Contessina had moved to. "She may have been gone for days."

"Yes, and no one had thought to go inquire on Rita." Contessina said bitterly addressing her feelings on how the villagers were not helping each other. "Is she gone?" The blond asked looking at Mario with a hard gaze.

"For a couple days now at least." He said looking down at his feet in shame for how his people had handled the situation. "Rita only trusted one person to look after Fiona once she died, so when she is able to leave, she will go to Nannia." For some reason, Contessina's heart dropped at the mention of Nannia. The woman's spiteful words to her earlier had cause such a conflict within Contessina that she did not like the idea of Fiona going to that woman. "That is, if Nannia is willing to care for her."

"Where will she go if Nannia refuses?" Contessina asked wanting to know if the girl had any family that could care for her the way she needed to be. This worried the blond to a point where she would gladly take in a little girl she barely knew just to save her suffering.

"She has an older sister in San Gimignano, but she lives in a brothel. I could not condemn such a sweet girl to a life of prostitution." The Auditore man said putting a hand over his heart. He cared for the girl just as much as Ezio did it seemed. "Nipote would never forgive me if that were to happen."

"And neither would I." The former Medici stated with a hard look on her face and a threatening glare in her blue eyes. She meant every word she said. "She should live in happiness. Not in sin or suffering."

"On that we both agree." Mario said as they looked upon the sleeping girl. Ezio had barely been gone for a few hours and already Contessina felt as though her duties to Monteriggioni and its people were already more than she could take. She would get through it though. One step at a time.


	24. Pulling Weeds

**Hello everyone! How are ya'll doing? I hope everyone is doing fine and that you guys are still trucking even though this world seems to have gone crazy. With that in mind, I am pleased that I am able to offer you guys a bit of an escape from all of that. I think it is very important to lose yourself in a book or game or whatever when there is so much in life that can bring you down. **

**I am going to mention that there will be some changes to the AC2 game plot here and there, one of them being more of a character change with a certain lady. Other than that, it should keep mainly to the plot of the games, only that it will be rearranged. **

At dawn, Contessina was pulling weeds again out of frustration. All night she found herself wide awake without Ezio's warmth next to her. Fiona had slept in the bed next to her, but there was just a strange feeling of being extra careful around the girl. She hoped pulling weeds would undo her frustrations, but all it seemed to do was frustrate her more. Nannia's words from the day before sometimes ran through Contessina's head giving her this angry feeling that took time to go away. She could not stand it, so she pulled the weeds from the ground angrily.

Before long she had a pile of plants beside her and she was covered in dirt once again. Soon it would be time for breakfast, but she did not want to go into the villa feeling as she did. If anything, she wanted to sleep, yet she knew that sleep would not come to her until Ezio was back. She needed to know how he felt just as much as she wanted to tell him, and she did not know if she could hold out any longer. Especially if Nannia's words were true.

"What did those weeds do to you, Niece?" Mario's voice caught her off guard as she pulled on a particularly hardy plant that refused to give up. She huffed before sitting back on her heels and wiping her hands on her apron.

"Nothing." She said with an annoyed grunt before turning to look at her uncle and seeing him standing there with a letter in his hands. "What is that?" Contessina eyed the letter knowing there was some news within it.

"A letter for Giulia." He told her before handing it to her and she gladly accepted it. "It came just before dawn." He did not have to say any more when she popped the wax seal and opened the paper to begin reading it. Her eyes read every single word closely before taking a sharp breath at the words Poliziano wrote to her. The news was not good. "Well?"

"Sixtus has ordered Salviati's body delivered to Roma immediately." Contessina told Mario before handing the letter back to him. "They know that Salviati is still alive and that they hung a farmer in his place. They are looking for a reason to place a siege on Firenze and if Salviati's body isn't given to them, they will have an excuse."

"They will have an excuse regardless. Even with a body, Sixtus will find a way to underhand the Medici." The man said as Contessina stood up brushing herself off. "This is not our war, Contessina. Lorenzo must fight the battles he brought on himself and you know this. Your concern for the people gives you credit, but you cannot get involved." The thought of Ezio fighting for Lorenzo did not sit well with her, but at the same time she did not want innocent lives to suffer.

"Then what can we do?" She stopped to look Mario in the eyes, pleading for him to give her a suggestion. She dearly hoped he would say something that could ease her fears or worries over the place she had lived for so long. "Uncle, there must be something I can do."

"There is." He put a hand on her shoulder to give her comfort. "Continue your correspondence with your informants in Firenze and wait. You are part of our family now and the wife of an Auditore, this is what you are meant to do." Contessina saw a glint of pride in his eyes at her willingness to help others as much as she did. She had proved it to him with taking care of Fiona during the night. "There will be a time when we can do more."

"Alright." She nodded as she looked down at her hands feeling useless again. Mario must have caught on to her emotional state before putting his arm around her shoulder.

"You are a very good woman, Contessina and I see why Ezio holds you in such high esteem." He squeezed her closer to him as she seemed beat down by her sleeplessness. "Not to mention, you have earned my respect as well." He let her go before standing in front of her and putting both hands on her shoulders with a jovial smile on his face. "You have done so much for my Nipote and by doing so you have done a lot for Monteriggioni. That in itself is something to rejoice about."

"If that is so, then why does Nannia say the things she says to me?" The smile Mario had on his face went away in an instant seeing Contessina so melancholy. This was not like her at all, at least not like she has been for the last couple weeks. "Or why do the villagers seem to talk about me when I am not looking? Do I offend them because I am Medici?"

"No. No, Niece, it is not like that at all and you will see. As for Nannia, what did she say to you to make you so upset?" Mario removed his hands from her shoulders and held one out for her to take. Contessina took it and he clamped her hand in-between his larger ones giving her a little comfort. She had come to like the conversations she had with her new Uncle. He was easy to talk to and he treated her as though she were actually family.

"You must not tell Ezio" The blond pleaded with him. She felt that if Ezio knew, he would never confess to her how he felt.

"You have my word." Mario gave her a serious look. She knew she could trust him because he was an honorable man who did have a care for the women in his family. He treated Maria as his sister and often sat in silence with her in order to at least provide comfort to her.

"After you walked away, I attempted to explain myself to Nannia after the remark she made about me." Contessina was shaking now trying to calm the angry feeling that had risen up within her upon recalling the conversation. "I let it slip that I love Ezio and his family. She went quiet for a moment and I thought she was going to back off, but she did not. Instead she said something about half the women of the village love him too." A single tear rolled down her right cheek as she shook with anger and nervousness at the reaction she was going to get from Mario. Instead of being shocked about it, Mario had a very understanding look on his face and then pulled her into a hug.

"Such cruel words from that vile woman." He said before letting her go after a minute or so. "Come sit with me. I think it is best you know Nannia's story." Mario said pulling her to the nearest bench in the garden. "I suppose I should start with Rita, or Margherita de' Farnese."

"The name is very familiar to me." Contessina swore she had heard the name before, but she could not recall when or where. "There were some Farnese' in Firenze who worked for the Medici bank when my grandfather had control of it. I never knew what happened to them after my Uncle took over."

"After Cosimo died, there had been rumors that the bank had dried up, when that happened the Farnese sold off everything they could to pay off the loans that Piero called due. They lost everything. When Rita left Firenze with her son and her daughter-in-law, Nannia, they came here knowing that the Medici would not cross Siena's territory." Mario told her and Contessina understood why Nannia despised her so. The full weight of what her family had done to the Farnese of Firenze had come crashing down on her shoulders. "Nannia and her husband loved each other, but after Piero forced them out, Matteo lost interest in her. He began to see this other woman in San Gimignano who gave him two daughters, Dina and Fiona."

"I understand now." How painful it must have been for Nannia to lose not only everything she owned, but her husband's love as well. Contessina felt a chill run up her spine at the thought of Ezio's love never coming to be or even worse, gaining it then after time losing it to someone else. Cristina's face flashed through Contessina's mind for a moment and the blond knew that she had taken Ezio away from her friend. She felt horrible in that moment realizing love can turn people into monsters. It also seemed as though Nannia was never able to have children of her own which can turn a woman into a bitter mess full of jealousy.

"I cannot say any more than that, but do not let her words cloud your mind." Mario said before standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "Or your heart." He must have seen the solemn look on her face and knew she was thinking on Nannia's words once again. Contessina did not say anything more as Mario walked away towards the rear entrance to the villa whistling an old tune.

With all the new information on Nannia, Contessina felt she had a better grasp on the reality of the situation. Perhaps talking to the woman would solve the issue or even help her and that was Contessina's goal. There was no doubt in her mind that if she did things right, Nannia would come around and learn to forgive past grievances. If she could just explain to the bitter woman that she was not like her family, then there could be a way to see eye to eye.

Contessina sighed as she stood from the bench to go back to her weeding knowing at some point, she would have to go find suitable clothing for Fiona. Until then, she was going to pour her frustrations out on innocent weeds who were choking out the beautiful flowers. The whole time she was on her hands and knees pulling weeds, her mind always went to Ezio. Did he long for her as much as she did him? Maybe so, but he had to focus on what he was doing. She did not want to be a distraction to him out in the field where all attention had to be on not coming to harm. Contessina was so lost in her thoughts about Ezio the she had not noticed how much time had passed.

"Contessina?" Claudia's voice said from behind her and the blond shook her head to clear the thoughts she had of Ezio. She slowly turned around after wiping her hands on her apron to see her sister standing there with Fiona at her side.

"I'm sorry, I was caught up in my mind I suppose." The blond said with a smile as the little girl came running over in her tattered dress from the night before. "What is it?" Contessina looked up at Claudia who had a curious look on her face.

"You were thinking about my brother." The Auditore girl said with a smirk coming over her face causing Contessina to blush hard as Fiona came up to her. She held her arms open wide for the little girl as she tried to contain the heat on her cheeks. Fiona wrapped her little arms around Contessina's neck before sitting in her lap. "Anyway, Fiona was wanting to know where you were, and we decided to find you. Although it is not hard to find you these days."

"Yes, well, someone needs to weed the garden around here." Contessina huffed as she tightened her arms around Fiona and smiled. "Perhaps we should let Claudia weed the garden while we go find you a new dress." She looked at Claudia who crossed her arms and huffed at the ridiculous thought of pulling weeds.

"Really?" Fiona's face lit up as though she had not been affected by the loss of her grandmother. "A new dress?" There was so much excitement in the girl's brown eyes that Contessina could not help but feel overjoyed that the little girl was in good spirits.

"Of course. This one will be good for helping me in the garden if you like." Contessina saw the girl's eyes light up even more at the mention of helping her with the weeds. Claudia seemed to be annoyed at all the affection going on between the girl and the blond.

"Why don't I go find Fiona a new dress and you two can play in the dirt?" There was a moment of silence between the three of them before Contessina shrugged and looked at the girl in her arms.

"If we must." The blond said squeezing the little girl with a giggle before Claudia turned away.

"Oh, Uncle would like for us to join him for dinner so please clean up enough for that." The dark-haired young woman said looking back at the two people she left behind. If Contessina did not know any better, Uncle was giving one of his excuses to have what he called 'a feast' and she dreaded it this once. Without Ezio there she did not know if it could be called such a thing. She put those thoughts behind her before lifting Fiona from her lap and setting the little girl down beside her.

"Now, tesora, time for you to learn about weeding a garden." There was a broad smile on the girl's face as she watched Contessina show her the difference between the bad plants and the good ones.

There was no denying the feeling that came over Ezio the moment his hidden blade sunk into the flesh of Francesco Salviati. After he had scaled the walls of the Villa di Salviati and was spotted rather easily by the Archbishop, Ezio was quick to call the man a hypocrite concerning the doctrine of his faith. After all, a man of the cloth must not kill. The assassin may not have been a full believer of the church and its teachings, yet he did find some of the scriptures motivated people to do as their morals dictated. Salviati was consumed by his own lust for power and that went against his own faith.

Ezio was quick to put an end to it, but not without information spilling from the dying man's lips. In the moment of his death, Francesco Salviati repented to his God and confessed to his killer the makings of a great scheme. With the failed attempt at killing Lorenzo de' Medici and gaining control of Firenze, a darker plot was beginning to come into light. It was not just Firenze that Sixtus was trying to gain control of, but other important trade routes throughout Italia. With Genoa's naval armada Sixtus could easily conquer Naples and with Venezia's he could do even more.

Even with all the plotting and murdering going on, there was still a measure of peace within Italy that seemed to exist in sleepy little villages across the Tuscan countryside. As Ezio rode through the quiet San Donato on his way back to Monteriggioni, he realized that most people did not care what was going on in Firenze or Roma. They only cared for the simple things such as farming their lands and raising their families. Perhaps they were better for it.

On the side of the road there were rows and rows of green wheat where men and women alike were tending to the plants by spreading fine ground limestone on the dirt. In late summer, the wheat would be golden and ready for harvest if there was no blight. The crop was essential to life in Tuscany along with the many vineyards that produced the finest wines in the known world. One could not eat bread without their wine and the same went for the wine. For Ezio, the thought of golden wheat brought images of his wife's golden head. The feel of her silky hair in his hands as he held her close and the taste of grapes on her lips after a sip of wine. He wanted to ride faster. To get home to her and hold her in his arms or kiss her until neither of them could breathe.

"Thinking of la bella Contessina?" Gambalto's voice pulled Ezio out of his thoughts as the mercenary trotted up beside him. There was a smirk on the other man's face that Ezio deeply wanted to sink his fist into at that moment, but then there would be questions later. "If I did not know any better, which I don't, I'd say just ride home to her." The cocky man said. "Ride home to her and make sweet, sweet love to her all night long." Ezio gave him a glare.

"I wish it were that simple." Ezio was not very good at telling anyone how he felt. He was a man of action or at least he liked to think of himself as that. Of course, he had always been very easygoing with women, but talking to other men about his relationships, no. That was not going to happen. "Don't you have your own wife to talk about?" There was the sound of Gambalto's throat clearing and then an apologetic look on his face.

"Point taken." There was a moment of silence before the mercenary said more. "Are the rest of the villagers still keeping their distance from her?"

"Yes, and it is beginning to make her feel unwanted." Ezio said knowing that the reason behind all of it was not what Contessina believed it to be. In the past two weeks the secrecy between the villagers had put Ezio in a bind. Having to keep things from his wife was something he promised he would never do again, but in this case, it was for her benefit. The less she knew of it, the better off she was.

"Then we better pick up the pace." Gambalto said with a smile before turning around to yell at the other mercenaries behind him. "Move your asses! I'm hungry and tired!"

"Shut up! We are all hungry and tired, but you don't see us complaining, Gambalto!" One of the sixteen men yelled back with a chuckle as the others laughed. Ezio chuckled at the look on his temporary second's face as it went from cocky to crestfallen in a moment.

"Fine then, I'll tell all the ladies that the rest of you lazy dogs couldn't make it home to them in time." Bringing women into the conversation was always a way to get the men motivated to move faster. Ezio took a little delight in it before kicking his horse into a good lope down the road leaving Gambalto to deal with the rest of the men. The only thought he had on his mind at that moment was seeing Contessina's smile when he returned to her.

Even though it had been nearly a full day since Ezio had left Monteriggioni, it almost felt like a week or even a month. Contessina sat there in the warm water of the tub thinking of him again, only this time the images got a little more heated in nature. She remembered their wedding night and how awkward it had been for her while Ezio knew the ins and outs of pleasing a woman. She could not say she was pleased because of her relationship with him at that time was not what it was at present.

There was no denying that he had tried to make it as comfortable as possible, but there was a distinct lack of acknowledgement that night. Not because he knew it was her, but because they did not know where they stood with each other. It was formal and there was no real emotion to it other than the cold doubt that she had. She never bothered to ask him if she had pleased him after that night because it was obvious that he had more pleasure from another woman than he did with her. With those thoughts came the fleeting doubt that Nannia had placed into Contessina's mind. How could she be so stupid to let that bitter woman have control over her emotions? The comment that Nannia made was quickly becoming a festering wound that refused to go away.

Contessina hugged her knees to her chest in the cooling water. There was no mistaking the mixed feelings she had within her as a woman in these times was difficult enough. Fidelity was rare in a political marriage, although she could not call hers that since her feelings for Ezio had always been there. Now she had to wait another day for him to come home and finally relieve her worries. She wanted the torment to end and the only way to resolve it was to say something to him and hope he answered her with the same feelings.

"Contessina! Get out of there already!" Claudia's voice yelling through the door brought the blond out of her thoughts. The water was getting cold but at the same time it was soothing on her skin. "Contessina!" There was banging on the door and she grabbed the drying cloth on the stool next to the tub before standing up to wrap it around her.

"Alright! I'm coming." She told her sister as she worked to dry herself off before grabbing her clean shift and robe. "You can come in now, Claudia." Contessina said tying the sash on her cover as the door opened to reveal the young Auditore girl.

"You have been here for over an hour. It's a wonder I did not find you shriveled up like an old woman already." There was a hint of sarcasm in Claudia's voice that made the blond roll her eyes. The younger woman had always had such a cool wit about her, but it was obvious that Monteriggioni had changed her in ways Contessina did not even know. Sometimes it surprised the older woman in such a way that she wondered if Claudia losing her half her family turned her into this grim person. "Anyway, hurry and get dressed, Uncle would like to see you out in the garden." Claudia said before disappearing out the door as quickly as she had come in. Contessina shook her head wondering just what was going on.

After she was dressed, Contessina made her way to the garden as Claudia said. However, Mario was nowhere to be seen so she sat on the edge of the dry fountain in the middle of the courtyard alone with all of her thoughts going back to where they had been all day. She started to pull at the dead vines on the fountain as the sound of footsteps came from the villa behind her. Turning around she saw Ezio standing there with a smile on his face and her heart began to beat faster. He was not standing there as an assassin, but as the boy she knew all of her life. He wore a dark green doublet vest like when they lived in Firenze. Somehow this brought a sense of nostalgia of old times when there were dances to be had. She stood up and went to him as if she had not seen him in over a month.

"Signore, I think you may be lost." She said with a smile on her face trying to contain her excitement at seeing him home so early. "You seem to have wandered into my garden." She put a hand on his chest, and he put his hand over hers.

"This is your garden? I thought it belonged to a queen." Ezio could not help the smile that made its way to his face before he leaned his head down to join his lips with hers. His vacant hand found its way into her silky hair as he deepened the kiss. It was like he was being pulled down into the sea with her and he knew from then on, that his heart would never be his own again. This woman was the love of his life. "A very beautiful queen." He said to her breaking the kiss and putting his forehead on hers. "Will you come with me?" He asked her.

"I will go with you anywhere." Contessina said without hesitation as he pulled her away from the garden.


	25. Young Love

**Ciao! Come sta? Doing well, I hope? Well, to put it bluntly, the last couple chapters were very painful to get through because I kinda went away from the outline a little. No worries though, I did keep to the main goal. Basically, I am at the point where I just want to get done, but I have so much more to do and set up before we get to the next book. The last couple chapters focus on the renewal of Ezio and Contessina's marriage I suppose. They missed out on being together for the first two years (which is the most crucial part of any marriage) and now they are literally starting over. Not to mention Contessina is a bit naïve to how marriage can be, so I wanted to start there. Things will get a bit more complicated as she ages. **

The late afternoon sun gave perfect lighting for the party that Ezio and his wife descended down on from the Villa. It was clear with the expression on her face that she had not been expecting such a thing and Ezio felt he had accomplished something. The people from Monteriggioni and the surrounding farms had all come at the chance for celebration. Of course, they had all been curious about the 'Medici Princess' that he had drug back from Firenze, but the Touranelli sisters kept really quiet on the matter.

In the middle of the square was a long table that could seat all of the villagers, except for the smaller table where the children could sit an eat. Barrels of wine had been brought in from one of the local vineyards, with the jovial owner included. Enrico was very happy to supply the entire village with enough wine to stir a bit of drunken happiness. Ezio noticed that Gambalto had already poured everyone a glass and was going on about the politics of Siena again. It was not until the baker and his wife came out with fresh pasta that his stomach started to complain about being empty.

Contessina had been speaking with the two women that organized this whole celebration when the call for diner came. Everyone sat down with Contessina being pushed to sit at the end of the table while Ezio knew where he sat. It was custom for husband and wife to always face each other at the dinner table no matter how long it was. Between the two of them sat around fifty people on each side, but thankfully they could still see each other. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fiona running around with two other children her age before being fussed at to sit down by one of the women.

"All of this spectacle is for Contessina." Claudia said as she sat down on his left. "When we came here no one did any of this for us." Ezio rolled his eyes hearing his sister complain about how they were not given such treatment when first arriving to Monteriggioni.

"Claudia, what are you talking about?" He looked over to her with a hard look on his face. "We did have a party." It was a few months after they had come that the villagers found an excuse to have a good get together. He specifically remembered it because that was when most of the women learned he was married already. He almost felt sorry for disappointing them, but half of them were married anyway. "Are you jealous?"

"No." She said looking down the table towards her blond headed sister. "Maybe." Ezio sighed before raising his glass in the air for more wine. "Alright, yes I am jealous." Sometimes the way women found themselves jealous over each other made no sense to him, but then again Claudia had every reason to feel the way she did. It was not her fault that Contessina took the spotlight and he doubted his wife really cared for it anyway.

"Claudia," He said as his glass was filled with wine again. "I love you. You are my sister, but you get a party every year. From the time you were seven years old to now. I think you can let Contessina have her night." His sister's jaw dropped at his words and Ezio did not feel a bit guilty over his opinion. It was honesty. Contessina deserved this night since the last time she had some function was on their wedding day and he recalled her being miserable then. He sat back in his chair as Maria sat down on his right and gave him a small smile. "Mother." He said as she put her hand on his.

From the other end of the table, Contessina sat with a nervous smile as the women around her chatted about. Vittoria Touranelli sat on Contessina's left while the auburn-haired woman's sister, Carlotta, sat next to her. Gambalto sat across from Vittoria at Contessina's right with a snarky smile on his face at the comment his wife just made. Even with the nervousness, the blond could not help but to laugh at the bashful nature of the younger brunette girl at her sister's side. She was the same age as Contessina and not yet married, though it was on the opinion of her parents that she should marry one of the wealthier sons of Siena.

"And she said of course there are grapes, it's a vineyard you idiot!" Gambalto said telling the story of how he and Vittoria met at her parent's villa. "From then on, I knew she was the woman for me." The other men laughed about the table as bread and cheese were passed around. "How did you and Ezio meet, Contessina?" All attention turns to her as she sat there pondering where to start. "How does a Medici girl end up with a man like Ezio?"

"We met when we were children." Contessina's eyes found her way to Ezio on the far end of the table where he was sitting with his glass of wine in one hand and a piece of cheese in the other. "He was in my family's garden pretending to be Spartacus on revolt against Roma. I believe we were only five or six at the time, but he wanted me to play with him." She said with a fond smile on her face.

"So, you've known him most of your life then?" Carlotta spoke up as her sister took a sip of wine. Contessina gave her a nod as a bowl of pasta with garlic, sun dried tomato, and herbs was placed in front of her. "Did you play with him?" There was a curious question. Contessina knew the answer well and smiled upon remembering that moment when she decided Boudica was the only one who could rein in Spartacus.

"I did. He gave me his wooden sword to take down the vile Romans while he managed to do it all with a stick." She told the surrounding men and women as she picked up her fork and began to eat the pasta. It tasted like nothing she had ever had before. The olive oil used to top the dish along with the hint of salt and pepper gave it a surprising kick. There was also a hint of wine within the mixture that she could not get over. "Mio Dio, this is wonderful." She said as she dabbed her mouth with a cloth.

"Lucia Donato is the only woman here who knows how to make such a dish." Vittoria motioned to the older woman with the apron on. Lucia seemed like a woman who did not beat around the bush and there was no bitterness present in her grey eyes. "She is also the midwife." Contessina was about to shove more pasta in her mouth when Vittoria mentioned the subject. "Perhaps you may need her one day." The blond closed her mouth and set her fork down in the bowl.

"I highly doubt that." The thought of children crossed her mind once every so often, but Contessina was sure that bringing a new life into the world was not a top priority. If anything, she would be happy with Fiona in her care for as long as possible. "I will be happy with the children running around the village now." She smiled at the auburn-haired woman.

"Yes, of course. My sister did not mean anything by it, Signora." Carlotta said taking up for the embarrassment that Vittoria had presented. "You know that is none of our business, sister." The blond heard the brunette say to her sister with a hiss. "It's bad enough Nannia has been spreading lies, we don't need to put Signora Contessina on the spot." Carlotta said before realizing that Contessina had heard the whole thing and then saw the look on the blonde's face. "I'm sorry."

"What lies has Nannia been telling?" The blond looked to Vittoria with a questioning gaze, but Carlotta intervened.

"Signora, if you wish, I can tell you after the fun. This is not the place for such talk." Contessina wanted to talk about it then, but Carlotta was right. She should enjoy her newfound freedom and finally get to know the people of Monteriggioni. "This is your night and that horrible woman should not ruin that for you." The brunette gave Contessina a wide smile and she instantly knew that Carlotta was going to be visiting her frequently in the future. She liked Carlotta and perhaps a good friendship will come to the both of them.

Once everyone had eaten the dishes had been cleared away before everyone stood up to let the tables be moved to the side of the square. Then the locals who knew how to play instruments began to liven up the atmosphere with joyous tunes that had sent the women into a dance. There was singing and dancing well passed the setting of the sun and the rising of the slim crescent moon. As the people danced Contessina walked around the lively place looking for a particular person with a smile on her face. She found him standing there watching Claudia dance with one of the young men who lived outside the walls of the village.

"Watching them like a hawk, are you?" Contessina said as she came up beside Ezio who looked down at her when she grabbed his arm. There was a moment he had to catch his breath because she had been dancing and her hair had come out of its braid enough to cascade down her back.

"Someone has to." He told her as she leaned up against him and he put his arm around her. "Look at him flirting with her." Ezio motioned with his head as the young man was trying rather hard to make his intentions known to Claudia, but the girl was enjoying the dance too much to care. "And she is smiling for once."

"I see that." Contessina gave him a warm smile of her own as he pulled her closer. "I'm surprised no one has asked you to dance, Ser Ezio." She smirked at him but instead of smiling back, he seemed to sag at the mention of dancing. He knew how to dance. She knew he knew how to dance, but he did not like dancing. He was more than content to stand there and watch the dancing as it went on, however no one could make him dance. Not even Contessina as much as he loved her.

"No." He knew what she was trying to get him to dance with her and she was probably going to succeed eventually, but he was not going to give in that night. He looked at her with a straight face, but she countered him with a sly grin before she pulled on him as the music began to get a little more vigorous. "I would rather watch."

"Then I guess I have no choice but to find a different dance partner." She said as her face went from happy to disappointed in the blink of an eye. The way in which she said it struck a chord in Ezio and he sighed before giving in and letting her drag him to the crowd of men and women dancing. "I knew you would give in." She gave him a smile as they set up for the dance.

"This is the only dance you are going to get from me." He told her with an annoyed look on his face at being guilted into dancing by his wife. He knew it was a trap, but he fell for it anyway and now he had to make it through a dance he did not want to do. Ezio supposed he should be lucky it was her and not anyone else. As they danced everyone around seemed to be focusing on them instead of dancing.

"Are you not confident in the way you dance, Ezio?" She asked him as they waltzed around each other. She was teasing him and while he could easily retaliate with that, he only smirked as he caught her wrist and pulled her closer to him. The song playing was near the end.

"Not when I have such a beautiful woman to dance with." He told her as the song ended and then kissed her firmly on the lips. There seemed to be delight in the air at their open affection for each other when she smiled through the kiss. They were both comfortable there in that place where she felt so alive and he just as confident in her. "Ti amo." He whispered to her upon breaking the kiss and he looked her in the eyes as he held her there. Inside he felt like he was taking a Leap of Faith over and over again only he was still rooted to the ground.

Contessina's heart stopped beating the moment she heard those words, or she thought it stopped beating. The world seemed to disappear around her and the ground beneath her feet vanished as there was only the honest and pure look in his eyes that she could see. She had to process what she heard over and over again before she answered with a kiss of her own. It was different than before. It was strange how hearing two words from him changed how she felt in a single moment. The doubt that she had disappeared into oblivion as she poured every bit of herself into a kiss in front of all the people there, but she did not care. She was flying above the clouds at that moment, but at the same time she was completely grounded by Ezio.

She slowly pulled away from him with a smile on her lips and a lighter heart before she noticed the villagers all looking at them. The looks on their faces spoke volumes about how they accepted these displays of affection between couples. The women would now have something to talk about that had nothing to do with the lies Nannia was spreading. That thought alone did put a small worry into the back of her mind, but she put it away as she looked into her husband's honey colored eyes. She felt as though she were dreaming, but it was definitely real.

As the world began to come back to her, there was many things she became aware of. The sudden change in the atmosphere as the woman who had been missing from the party had stumbled into the middle of it with a bottle of wine in her hand. Both Ezio and Contessina looked to the woman who was slurring her words as she made herself known to the entire village. Contessina looked to Ezio who seemed to be thinking the same thing as Mario came to stand by them.

"Why do you all celebrate the Medici brat?" The woman yelled out as she came to stand out in the circle of people in the square. "They took everything away from me. Everything!" She yelled out as she pointed to herself. Contessina could not say anything as Ezio seemed to take up a defensive stance and moved her behind him. "Rita died because of that bitch! She cursed her!" Nannia spun around and pointed at the blond woman who was innocent in all of this. "She will curse all of us by being here."

"Nannia! That is enough." Mario's voice yelled out over them as he came forward to take hold of the irate woman. "Go home."

"Home? This is no home. You allowed the devil in and now she has tainted it." Nannia said looking up at Mario with tears in her eyes and then her gaze turned to Fiona who had been sitting with Maria. "Come Fiona, come so this witch will not curse you too." Nannia held out her hand to the little girl, but there was a look of fear on the girl's face that Contessina had seen before. The blond would not let Fiona be caught in the middle of this, so she walked over to Nannia.

"I am sorry if you think me accountable for the actions of my family in the past, but I regret to inform you that I had nothing to do with them." Contessina said putting a hard look on her face while inside she was shaking in either rage or complete fear. She could not tell; however, she was not going to let Nannia win. "I was barely a child when the Farnese were forced out of Firenze by Piero de'Medici. If you want to blame someone, blame my grandfather. He was the one who spent every Florin on Firenze for his vision. Medici blood flows through my veins, but I am not hiding behind the name." She said and Nannia's face did not change at the words. Contessina knew that no matter what she said, the older woman would not listen. She was too set in her hatred of the Medici to relent. "Fiona will be staying at the villa tonight. I cannot in good conscience have her in the presence of a drunken woman."

"You do not tell me what to do, Medici." Nannia said raising her hand to slap Contessina across her left cheek, but Ezio managed to grab the woman's wrist. There was a very hard and angry look in his eyes, but his face was impassive, and this made Nannia shrink away. "She has you now, but you will learn the truth and leave her eventually."

"I do not think so." His tone was low and dangerous. Contessina was thankful that Ezio was respectful to women, otherwise she did not know what he would do. She watched as he dropped the woman's wrist and stepped back, straightening his vest before letting Mario lead the woman away. Contessina looked over to Fiona to see if she was alright and thankfully Maria was already comforting the child before Carlotta came over to her.

"Do not listen to her words, Contessina. None of us do. She has been raving mad since her husband died." Carlotta said putting a comforting hand on the blonde's arm. Contessina watched as Ezio tried to rein in his own feelings after his confession to her. The timing of Nannia's drunken rant was incomprehensible and she had no right to come in shaming Contessina as she did.

"She is right though, about the Medici." The blond looked up at her husband with sympathetic eyes knowing that Nannia was not the only victim of the Medici's ways. "She is not the only one that suffered because of my family. I did too." She said before walking away from everyone to settle her inner turmoil down.

"Contessina! Wait!" Carlotta's voice yelled out but Ezio stopped the brunette woman from following his wife. He knew Contessina well enough to know that she had been raised to be a Medici and then be a pawn in the Medici game. This was the reason he had been selected for her in the first place and not the other way around. If his father wanted him to marry someone, it would have been of Ezio's own choosing and perhaps it may have been Contessina all along. It was obvious her family name was still a heavy burden for her.

"It is best to leave her be, Carlotta." Vittoria said coming to stand next to her sister as Ezio turned to look in the direction Contessina walked off to. She had likely returned to the villa for the night and that was not a bad idea as it was getting late. "You should go after her."

Ezio did not have to be told twice before he walked away from the remnants of the party and up the steps to the villa. Contessina was almost to the front courtyard when he caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. She almost fell backwards into him when he did that, but he caught her before going up the last two steps with her. He could tell she was trying to hold back her tears from the far off look on her face and the lack of speech that came from her. Nannia's words had power over Contessina in a way he did not understand and could not if she did not tell him what else there was.

Words were powerful in a way. Ezio was not the type of man to let words rule his emotions and he never did only because he was more worried about looking ahead. Contessina was not like that because she lived in the moment and he did as well to a certain extent, but she doubted herself. He had seen her over the past weeks since coming to Monteriggioni and had watched as she underrated herself. Ezio knew it was because she was in a place she had never been before, but something else was bothering her. He wanted to know what it was because what bothered her, worried him in the end. He walked with her to the doors of the villa and then stopped her before she could open them.

"Stop." Ezio told her as he grabbed her by the elbow and made her look at him. He could have sworn he saw a little anger in her eyes from the way he acted, but she looked down at the ground for a second. "What am I missing, Contessina?" He desperately wanted to know what put her in such a state when she was content before he left the day before. None of it made any sense. "Why does Nannia's words affect you so much?" She did not answer at first, but he could see her shaking.

"What you said to me down there, in front of all those people, did you mean it?" Her voice was quiet like she did not want to even ask the question, but if she did not then she would doubt herself forever. "Do you mean it?" She looked up into his eyes with tears in her own for an answer and Ezio did not hesitate.

"Cara, if I didn't, I would not have said it in front of anyone besides you." He had openly said it to her in front of the entire village and most likely Nannia, which surprised him. Looking back on it the words came flying out of his mouth before he could even think about it, but he said them, nonetheless. He was going to tell her that night and he was going to do it alone, but it felt right to say it then and there after he had said it. "I will say it over and over again until you accept it if that is what you want." He took hold of her hands and held them up to his lips before kissing her knuckles.

"You don't have to do that." Contessina said with a raspy voice as her tears started spilling down her cheeks and then she gave him a small smile. "I accept it as long as you accept my confession." Contessina could not help but to move closer to him. "Ti amo." She whispered before reaching up to kiss his lips softly. He did not hesitate to take his hands and put them on her hips as she put hers around his neck. Ezio began to move to the door as their lips were locked together bringing her with him.

The explosion of passion Contessina brought with that kiss and the taste of her tears did something to him. Grasping at the door handle he opened the door while trying to see his way into the foyer of the building. At some point he removed his lips from hers to look at her again before picking her up and carrying her up the stairs to their room. He did not want to trip over the steps as she nuzzled his neck while he brought her up the stairs because of the overwhelming sensations.

Once Ezio set her down in the bedroom, she went to work on trying to undress him in the candlelight as he began to untie the laces on the front of her dress. There was no denying the feelings they had or each other now since they were removing layers of clothing. Ezio found himself kissing her neck as she removed his vest and when the outer layer of her dress fell to the floor, his mouth started to move to other areas causing her to suck in a breath. She had to bite her lower lip in order to keep the sounds she wanted to make within. Before she knew it, Contessina was completely undressed as her shift also fell to the floor in a pile at her feet and Ezio stopped what he was doing to really look at her.

She did not feel ashamed or bashful like she did the night of their wedding, instead she wanted to pose for him like Aphrodite did for Ares. The look in his eyes was almost as if he had seen a goddess for the first time in his life. Her long blond hair draped over her breasts and she put herself in a pose that resembled the roman statues she had seen all her life in the Palazzo Medici. She gently held out her hand with a willing look in her eyes and Ezio did not say a word when he took it and moved closer to her.

"When Sandro painted Venus and Mars, I used to imagine it was us in the painting." Contessina confessed to her husband and then realized she had been holding back her love for a long time. Ezio smiled before putting his hands on her waist and then let her remove his shirt from his body. "I used to wonder what it would be like to be held in your arms like this." She said as she dropped the shirt on the floor. "I was a silly girl and I am still a silly girl." She said as Ezio began to kiss her neck once again and she moaned as a shiver went through her. He pulled her closer to where their chests were touching. The feel of his skin on hers was not like the first time where she kept her night dress on the entire time. No, this was her giving him permission to feel this.

"Not anymore." He told her smiling against her skin before he picked her up and took her to the bed where they found themselves in another time and place. Their clothes littered the floor near the bed and eventually the toe-curling sensations that Contessina's body gave into with Ezio's knowledge of the female anatomy. Soon enough she was wrapped in his arms as they rested from their love making.

"Do you remember the winter I became sick?" Contessina ask him as he laid behind her with his nose still in her hair. Of course, he remembered. It was a memory he sometimes did not want to remember. She played with the silver ring on his finger as he breathed in deeply before answering her.

"You mean the winter we were both sick?" They were ten years old at the time. Many children in Firenze came down with a sickness that lasted the winter, some children did not live to see their next birthday. "I cannot forget it." He closed his eyes trying not to think about it because that was the first time in his life he came close to losing Contessina forever. He did not care if he fell sick, but he stayed with her until his mother came to fetch him and even then, he managed to see Contessina again. "My father had to lock me in my room."

"But you still came to me." She said with a smile. "I thought I was going to die, Ezio. I thought I was going to leave you without a friend and that you would forget about me if I did." The smile disappeared and was replaced by a sorrowful stare at the fire in the fireplace. She knew where her heart lied from the time she was a child until now and she had lost hope at some point. Ezio said nothing as he held her there and nuzzled the back of her head. "I didn't know it then, but you had my love."

"Did I?" He asked her picking his head off the pillow and looking down at her with a curious look. He smiled as she nodded and then laid his head back down before confessing something else to her. "I am sure when Queen Boudica entered the gardens, Spartacus found the love of his life." Ezio told her before kissing the back of her head and then closing his eyes. Contessina's body tensed for a moment before she squeezed his hand and he knew she was happy then and there.


	26. Letters From Firenze

**Another update in a day? Wow, I'm on a roll. Actually, I am just obsessed with where this story is headed. Basically, we are getting into some important events that will cause a commotion. So be warned, this isn't ending as soon as I thought it would. I am pretty sure that some of you were very happy when Ezio and Contessina finally confessed their feelings to one another. Believe me when I say this, but I was too. Trust me, it was better than if they had said it earlier and then there would be no depth to their relationship. Anywho, enough rambling on. **

Nearly three weeks had passed since the party and the first week of June brought enough rain with it to bring Contessina's garden to life. She had been thankful to have all the weeds cleared by the time the rain did come because the flowers were blooming out of control. Even the vines that covered the fountain seemed to want in on the mass blooming. Every morning she sat out on the covered balcony above the courtyard in her garden and read one of the books Mario had given her. Then around breakfast time, she went inside before Fiona made her presence known in the villa.

The little girl, despite having to live with Nannia, delighted in visiting Contessina every day in the garden. Of course, the little girl had to do this without Nannia's knowledge even though Mario protested against it saying it gave the bitter woman a reason to keep spreading lies. This did not bother Contessina in the slightest since she knew where Ezio stood in their relationship. Still, Fiona's safety was something the blond worried about constantly and her husband even shared the same sentiment.

"Contessina." She smiled when she heard Ezio's voice as he made his way down from the rooftop and landed in front of her on the balcony. The past few days he had been coming to sit with her for a while, but he usually came from his study at the top of the villa the less traditional way. He sat down in the chair next to her before giving her a kiss on the temple and propping his feet upon the railing.

"Amore, there are such things known as stairs. Why do you not use them?" She said not looking up from her book and hearing him chuckle at her sarcasm. Ezio said nothing before he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I'm an assassin, not a banker." He told her as he held her hand in his before she closed her book and sighed. "What is it?" Ezio's voice went from sarcastic to concerned as she put the book down in her lap and looked up at him.

"I don't know. I feel as though I am forgetting something important, but I cannot figure out what it is." He let go of her hand and began to run his fingers through her hair as she seemed to be upset over it, but at the same time he felt that she had changed since the night of the party. To be fair, they had both felt different since then, but that did not change his priorities. "I'm sure it is nothing, maybe an important date or something I am forgetting." She smiled before she stood up.

"Maybe." Ezio said before removing his feet from the railing and standing up as well. Lately, Mario had him training heavily for his next target, whoever it may be, and she often watched. "It will come to you eventually." He told her in confidence knowing she would figure it out.

"That doesn't solve the problem of the nagging feeling I have." She said hitting him gently on his arm with the book. "Come, I'm sure Uncle is waiting for us downstairs." Contessina grabbed his hand and drug him off of the balcony and into the villa before letting him go to follow her on his own. He did not mind, but sometimes she could be a little demanding and he realized this was how she had always been. It was refreshing to see the old Contessina in her natural ways and he could not help but to smile as he followed her down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Buongiorno." Mario said from his spot at the head of the table with Maria sitting across from him as the matriarch of the Auditore for now. Claudia sat at Maria's right while Ezio went to sit at her left. Contessina took her usual spot next to her sister while Mario was practically alone at the other end of the table. The Auditore man had made a comment a week ago about the empty seats being filled eventually, which caused Ezio and Contessina to look at each other with uncertainty.

"Buongiorno, Uncle." Contessina said with a happy smile on her face at seeing the man who she had started to see as an actual uncle to her. "Any news from Firenze?" She asked with curiosity but the man shook his head as he stabbed at his eggs with a fork before putting them on a thin flat bread with sun dried tomatoes and Italian peppers before folding it up to take a bite.

"The last we heard was that Riario had gone back to Roma, but that was over a week ago. He could very well be on his way back to Firenze with an army again." Mario said as he finished chewing while Contessina picked at her eggs not really wanting them that morning. "I'm sure we will hear something when he does reappear."

"No word on our targets either then?" Ezio spoke up as he put his own breakfast together with little difficulty. There was a shake of the head from Mario again confirming everyone's suspicions. Word traveled slow between Firenze and Monteriggioni. It was a day's ride between both places and no messenger would ever push their horse that hard unless there was a stop along the way. "It could be some time before we see either one back in Toscana." He said looking to Contessina.

"I know you are eager to take action, Nipote, but you still have a lot to learn." There was an air of disappointment around Ezio as Mario reminded him that he was not yet ready to take on more. Even though he had taken out the Pazzi and Salviati, he did have trouble with them. If anything, he was unrefined in his skills as a swordsman and he also needed to work on his defensive fighting. "I would have you at your best before letting you go on your own." Contessina could not agree more and she looked at her husband to see his boyish disapproval on the matter. Sometimes she forgot how young they were and how much he reflected the boy she had met all those years ago. Impatient and sometimes quick to anger, but otherwise still focused on what was important. "Also, I do not wish to see Contessina without a husband." Mario said looking at Contessina and giving her a wink before taking another bite of his food.

"I certainly do not wish to be without Ezio. Who else will torment me while I manage the books?" Claudia said as she poured milk into her cup with a flat look on her face pointed at her brother. Ezio was quick to answer that question with a heartfelt glare. The siblings were obviously having some sort of problem with each other that both Contessina and Maria had missed.

"Torment you? What did I do this time?" The questions were justified in Ezio's case because he had done something to Claudia that he had no idea about. Of course, Claudia could use anything as an excuse to ruffle her brother's feathers. As of late the Auditore girl seemed to be in more of a mood than usual and Contessina wondered if it was the boy that she had been dancing with the night of the party. "Claudia?" There was a lot of concern in Ezio's voice over this.

"I do not wish to talk about it with you." She said before standing up and grabbing her plate. "If anyone needs me, I will be working in the books today." Claudia left the room with a huff leaving everyone in a state of confusion.

"That girl confuses me sometimes." Mario said as he finished his meal. "I suppose it is to be expected with a young girl such as herself." Contessina looked to Maria who sat there silent as usual, but the woman seemed to be worried about her daughter just as much as Contessina was.

"Contessina, do you know what is going on with her?" Ezio asked his wife looking for some kind of answer from her. Claudia was not so forthcoming to him lately and it did bother him to an extent, but sometimes he did not understand.

"I have an idea, but I do not want to assume." Contessina said putting her hands in her lap, not feeling up to eating her breakfast at all. She was not hungry only preoccupied with her thoughts again. "You should eat while you can, Ezio. I'm sure Uncle is ready to get to your training." She gave her beloved a smile as he seemed to be a little skeptical of her as well.

Breakfast continued without further incident and when it came time for Ezio's training, Contessina followed him out of the villa to the ring outside. Some of Mario's men were already in the ring fighting one another hand to hand and laughing when one man was thrown onto his back. The young man on the ground was familiar to Contessina and then Claudia's mood made sense. The farm boy that she had danced with the night of the party had decided to join the ranks of the Monteriggioni mercenaries and she must have been upset because of his decision.

"Buongiorno, Signora Auditore." They all stood seemingly at attention as she made her way down the steps beside Ezio. Her beloved tended to ignore the attention she seemed to get from the men he fought beside on occasion.

"Buongiorno." Contessina smiled to them as she went to her normal spot on the railing to watch while Ezio made himself ready for combat. He usually started out with hand to hand before moving to sword and dagger.

"What a lovely day." Gambalto said coming to lean up against the concrete railing she sat on. "So, how does all fair, Signora Contessina?" The man she had become good friends with had a habit of making sure she was in good sorts, most likely for Vittoria's sake. However, Contessina found herself being closer to Carlotta than the auburn-haired woman.

"Well, though I do have a lot on my mind lately." She confessed as she watched Ezio attempt to teach the new boy to grapple. "Who is he?" She motioned to the boy in the ring with her husband and Gambalto chuckled.

"That is Sandro. He was a worker for one of the villas, but it seems he has other ambitions." Gambalto said with a teasing tone. "He isn't bad for a farm boy, but he does need a lot of work. He is not as naturally talented as Ezio was when he came here."

"No, I suppose not. This is in Ezio's blood and spirit." Contessina said knowing that the boy could learn a lot from her husband in the future. "Besides, I know why he joined, and I think Ezio would be happy knowing he can keep an eye on his sister's sweetheart." She told Gambalto giving him a smirk.

"Ah, that makes sense. Signora Contessina, you are very observant." He said as she saw Carlotta walking up the steps from the village square with a basket of what looked like rolls. The brunette smiled at her as she walked up. "It seems Carlotta has brought us food." He winked before walking over to his sister-in-law to investigate what was in the basket, but she slapped his hand away.

"These are not for you Gambalto!" The brunette was protecting the basket as she walked up to her blond friend and sat on the railing next to her. "I swear, he is insufferable." She said putting the basket beside her. "I brought these for later when we work in the garden." Contessina was about to say something as a man came galloping in on his horse down below in the square. She looked at Carlotta and then hopped off her perch, catching Ezio's attention.

"Contessina? What is it?" She heard him yell as she ran down the steps to the man on the horse. She knew exactly who it was and because he came galloping in, she knew something was terribly wrong.

"Signora Contessina, I bring news from Firenze." He hopped down from his horse breathing heavily. "By Lorenzo de'Medici." He said as Ezio came running up behind her. The messenger opened his saddle bag pulling out two letters both with the Medici seal on them and handed them to Contessina.

"Grazie. You may take your horse to the stables and rest there; I will make sure someone brings you food before you leave again." The blond said before the messenger nodded his head and lead his horse away. Contessina did not hesitate on breaking the first seal and reading the letter in haste while Ezio stood beside her. The news was not what she expected and even worse, not good at all for Firenze or its people. "Sixtus has excommunicated Firenze. No citizen or resident of the Republic of Firenze shall be able to have communion or baptism until Lorenzo agrees to apologize for the death of Francesco Salviati." She continued to read before slowly making her way up the steps. "Furthermore, Riario has gone to Naples to secure an alliance with Ferdinand for his armies to siege Firenze."

"So, he did not go to Roma." Ezio said with anger in his voice. "With Naples support, Riario can cut off trade routes and never leave his position." This did not help things for Monteriggioni in the slightest because if trade was cut off, then they would suffer too. Contessina picked up her dress and made her way up the stairs with the letters in hand going straight to Mario. The older man was standing at the edge of the training ring when she handed him the letter written in Lorenzo's hand.

"Carlotta." Contessina went to her friend and pulled her aside. "Do you know the priest well?" She asked wanting to see if there was something, she could do to help the situation. She could at least make it possible for the people of the lower parts of the Republic able to come to church here.

"Si, Father Giovanni, why?" There was a confused look on the other woman's face when Contessina inquired to the church.

"All of Firenze and it's republic has been excommunicated from the Holy See. No baptisms, mass, or communions." Contessina said gravely causing Carlotta to put a hand to her chest in shock. "Not even marriage can take place."

"I knew Firenze was in trouble, but this is worse than I thought. What can I do to help?" Contessina could not be more grateful to her new friend for asking to help where it was needed. Perhaps Carlotta was a Godsend after all.

"Siena is still in good faith with the Holy See. I was thinking that we could invite the lower parts of Firenze's republic to commune here in Monteriggioni." The blond knew that this would also create valuable commerce in the village as well. It was a smart move on her part while also caring about the people who were caught in a war that had nothing to do with them.

"I can speak with Father Giovanni for you." Carlotta said putting a hand on Contessina's arm in comfort. "I doubt he will disapprove of it. After all, we are of Siena." The blond smiled at her friends quick thinking to the situation and then the brunette smiled before leaving her there to discuss the next plans. Contessina moved back to where her husband and uncle stood discussing the letter she had received from her cousin. She quietly opened up the unsealed letter and began reading through it finding the contents a little more heartbreaking, but she kept it to herself.

"Naples is a force to be reckoned with." Mario's voice said as he finished reading the letter a second time not believing it the first time. "Damn that_ stronzo_." Ezio was not sure if his uncle was referencing Lorenzo or Riario in that moment. "This is going to force us into a position we cannot afford to be in."

"Lorenzo is a friend to everyone who he sees can be useful to him in some way." Contessina said putting a hand on her husband's arm when Mario began to pace. She had seen Ezio do the same thing when in a particularly bad situation. "His ambition controls him." Just like her grandfathers did. She loved her cousin dearly, but his ambition was the reason Giuliano had been killed by the Pazzi. "Riario wants Firenze. What do the Templars want with Firenze?" Contessina asked point blank and Mario turned around to answer the question.

"That is a question I have been asking for a while now." It seemed that Mario was surprised that she even asked the question in the first place. Other than the Pazzi taking out the Medici, what was there to gain from Firenze other than trade, Papal accounts, and control over the Merchants. Strategic matters aside, Templars were not only after control, but also relics. Ezio put his finger to his chin in thought.

"If there is nothing in Firenze that could possibly be of use to the Templars, then Riario is the sole reason our home is under threat. A madman bent on obtaining power." Ezio said and Contessina knew he was right. "That is not a cause for us to fight this war for the Medici."

"No, but the innocent is a good enough reason, don't you think, Nipote?" Mario asked with a sigh knowing that there was a creed to be upheld. Contessina knew that Ezio would not fight a war for the Medici, but he could do something else to help the people. After all, with no word of his targets coming back into the fold, what was there to do? He would not stand by and let people become victims of something they had little to do with. Contessina felt that this would be another Volterra in the making and she could not have that on her conscience.

"I need to speak with our allies in Firenze." Ezio said coming to the conclusion that previous laid plans would have to be modified. They had predicted this for some time, but it all depended on Lorenzo's actions and at that moment, the Medici had gone too far. "I'll go tomorrow." Contessina sighed knowing she would likely go with him for a different reason.

"Very well, I will gather my men and see what we can do to prepare for a possible food shortage in the coming months." Mario said before walking off. Training seemed to be put on hold for the day and it was not even noon. What saddened the blond more than the news in her personal letter was that she would have to go back to Firenze for a short time.

The rest of the day followed in its normal path with Fiona's visit being rather short because Nannia was not feeling well. Contessina was surprised that the child could even get away from the woman long enough to see her, but the blond was happy to see the little girl. When she walked in from the garden that afternoon, she found Ezio in their room packing a few things in his saddle bags for his trip to Firenze. She dreaded having to tell him her news knowing he would be upset about it, but she had no choice.

"Here, let me do that." She said walking up to him and pulling the shirt out of his hands before folding it up properly and sticking it in the leather bag. He was clearly not happy with the turn of events, yet at the same time he was also upset about leaving her behind she supposed.

"I told Lorenzo that I did not want to be involved in this." Ezio said with a hint of anger in his voice as he sat on the bed and put his elbows on his knees. Contessina knew that the toll of being an assassin was going to be hard on him, emotionally and physically. Revenge was all he had wanted when he first started this journey, but now it was turning into a duty. He had a goal and he wanted to see it completed because he was not a quitter, but he had his moments where he was torn. Contessina stood in front of him and let him grab on to her as she slipped her fingers into his hair.

"Then don't get involved." She told Ezio as he had his arms wrapped around her waist and his head against her abdomen. "You have the choice. If blockades happen, then we will figure out what to do, but do not do something that you do not want to do." Contessina did not know if her words were the right ones, but when he sighed, she knew the words had gotten him thinking. "But we do have to go to Firenze."

"Why?" He pulled away and looked up at her. "What is it?" She took the letter from Clarice out of the bust of her dress and handed it to him so he could read it himself. The blond watched as his eyes darted left and right reading the words that Clarice was sorrowfully spelling out. "Your mother?" Contessina nodded.

"I do not know how long she has left, but I want to see her one last time." To be fair, she did miss her mother. "I know Firenze is on the way to Pistoia so we can go together." Contessina knew that he was not going to deny her this and make her stay in Monteriggioni, but she also knew he would want her safe.

"How long do you plan to stay?" Was Ezio's only question and the way he looked at her, it was as though he were pleading with her to make a different choice. She could not say no to her mother when the woman was dying.

"I do not know." She looked down at her hands and sniffed knowing this was difficult for the both of them having been separated for two years then only together for barely two months. Now she was asking him to let her go to Pistoia to be there with her mother after finally being together.

"I'm not happy about this, but it is your mother." Ezio said before grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. "If it were my mother, I would do the same." He told her as he pulled her into his lap and held her close. "Promise me you will send word when you are ready to come home?"

"I will." Contessina said as she put her head against his before he fell back on the bed with her. "I love you." She said before kissing him.


	27. Sweet Goodbye

**I hope everyone is still hanging in there. I know I am. **

**Quick note on this chapter, I had the hardest time with the last third of this one. I had literally no motivation to sit down and write the darn thing. I had this image of things being completely from Contessina's point of view in a very important scene for Ezio's character. I hope it came out like I wanted it to, and it translated well to you guys. **

The ride to Firenze from Monteriggioni was more uncomfortable than Contessina remembered it being the first time. Her sturdy little gelding was keeping pace with Orgullo as they made it to the east gate of Firenze a little after dusk. The lamp lighters were out with their lanterns and torches as the gates opened to them with the removal of Contessina's hood. It seemed the Firenze guard still remembered her face even though it had only been over a month or so since she left.

Ezio rode beside her as she made her way to Palazzo Medici, but he was not going to stay there. He had told her he would be going to meet with Volpe somewhere near the Ponte Vecchio and Poliziano would be joining them later. Ezio did not speak to her much throughout their ride to Firenze and she guessed it was because he was still upset that she was leaving for Pistoia. She appreciated that he felt that way only because it told of how much he really loved her, but she did not excuse his lack of speech. Before they parted ways, she was going to make sure that he was the only one who could make her feel the way she did.

As Contessina and Ezio came to a stop outside of the Palazzo Medici, one of the guards took the reins of her gelding as her husband got off of his. Ezio went to her and helped her off of her horse as the doors opened to reveal Poliziano in all his stoic glory. He bowed to her as one of the men lead her little gelding away before she turned to her beloved. The look on his face was surprisingly passive, but the turmoil in his eyes spoke volumes.

"I am not leaving until you come to say goodbye to me in the morning." She told him. The cowl of his hood kept his eyes hidden from everyone else's gaze, but she could see them perfectly as he was debating with himself. "Ezio, what is it?" She asked him; putting a hand on his cheek and he leaned into it.

"I am worried that Riario is going to find out about Pistoia." Ezio's voice was heavy with worry about the situation. From all that they knew about their foe, he was cunning, and he had his own party of spies who were just as cutthroat as he was. "Do not send any letters with the Medici name on it, like we used to do."

"I do not intend to write unless absolutely necessary." Contessina said with a smile before reaching up to kiss him. "I will be safe and if it comes to it, I can at least defend myself." She said before lifting up her dress to reveal the dagger that Giuliano gave her tucked in her boot.

"That is not what bothers me." He glided the back of his gloved hand on her cheek and then looked at Poliziano who was waiting for her to step inside the Palazzo. "I will see you in the morning." Ezio said leaning down to kiss her before getting on his horse and trotting away. She watched him for a few moments before she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Turning around she saw a man in clergy robes with a silver cross hanging around his neck and a smirk on his face. He looked so much like their grandfather when he was younger it was uncanny.

"Carlo!" She ran up to him and embraced him tightly after not having seen him in so long. The last time she remembered seeing Carlo di Cosimo de'Medici was in Roma four years prior. "I missed you."

"I did too." He let her go taking a step back to look at her. "You have grown up." He said with a content look on his face. "Your father would be proud."

"I do not know about that, Carlo." She said with a small smile before walking in the palazzo where she saw her aunt standing there. Lucrezia Tournabouni stood there with all her regal glory intact even after her son had been murdered by the Pazzi family. The older woman had not changed since Contessina had last seen her in Roma around the same time she had seen Carlo. "Zia." Lucrezia smiled widely upon seeing Contessina and opened her arms for the young woman.

"Mi cara." The embrace was as warm as Contessina remembered, similar to Maria's motherly affections. The blond guessed that Lucrezia had come from Roma with Carlo, or the other way around as Carlo had been imprisoned there for no good reason. "Are you going to Pistoia?" The older woman asked as they pulled apart from one another.

"Yes. My husband doesn't agree to it, but he would not keep me from seeing my mother." Contessina said as Lucrezia began to walk towards the stairs. To say she did not miss the decadence of the Palazzo was a lie as she did long to see the many statues in the gardens where she grew up. "He is not at all pleased with the current circumstances that Firenze is in."

"Neither am I." The older woman said as they began to walk up the stairs to the second floor where Contessina would find her room. "Lorenzo was called away to the Signoria earlier so I do not expect him to return for a while. In the meantime, you must rest. We have a long ride in a carriage tomorrow." Lucrezia said as she let go of her niece.

Contessina politely said goodnight to her aunt before going to her old room, which was still in the same condition she left it in. As pristine as it was, there seemed to be a light layer of dust on the vanity and window seal that had gathered in her absence. The candles had not been lit so she walked out the door to grab one from the sconce on the wall before returning to light the wax pillars. She removed the dagger that was in her boot before unlacing her riding boots and removing them. Then she began to work on the laces of her dress before removing it leaving only her white shift beneath.

She did not know how she was going to make it through her time in Pistoia without Ezio sleeping next to her. The thought of it made her feel so alone and cold, but at the same time she wondered if being apart from him would make her fires burn more for him. Turning back the covers on her bed, she thought about leaving the window open just in case Ezio did come to her. She hesitated at first thinking he would be occupied with strategizing, but it could not hurt to leave the window slightly open for him. He could walk in the front door if he wanted too, however he was not going to alert those watching the Medici for Riario of his presence yet. She decided to leave a window open for the sake of hope. If Ezio wanted to come to her, he would. If not, he was going to see her off in the morning. Climbing in the bed, she blew out the candle on the table next to it before trying to fall asleep.

Returning to Firenze so soon after finally bringing Contessina back to Monteriggioni with him was not something Ezio wanted. In fact, he would rather her still be in bed at home instead of in the city that gave her nothing but misery. However, it was Contessina's choice to leave for Pistoia and he was not going to be the husband who forced his wife to stay put. Not only that, but the woman was stubborn and did not like to sit around fiddling away at nothing. She would find a way to get herself involved as she did in the two years that they were apart. This was perhaps the more annoying part of her personality in some ways, but at the same time he loved her for it only because it did provide use.

Ezio could only imagine what the future had in store for the two of them as he walked through the dark streets of the city he was born in. The sound of his horses' shoes clopping on the cobbled brick was loud enough to draw unwanted attention to him, but he really did not care. He knew who was following him and who they reported too, yet chances are that person was going to appear out of the shadows at any moment. The assassin stopped for a moment hearing footstep on the rooftop above him running in the opposite direction. Something was off.

Taking Orgullo's reins, Ezio threw them over the gelding's neck and sent the horse off to a spot nearby. It was time to find out exactly who was on the rooftops at this hour and he had an idea who it was. He knew Riario had spies within Firenze watching the Medici's every move and he also knew that they were also keeping watch for his return as well. Ezio wasted no time in scampering up the building to his left to get to the open air of Firenze's rooves. He could do with an old-fashioned run across the rooftops as he once did several months ago and for most of his life. He was lucky to have caught sight of the man running away in such a hurry that he slid on one of the tiles.

"It never fails." Ezio said as he pulled himself up and started to casually walk in the direction where the man had fallen onto his backside. There seemed to be a look of terror in the man's eyes when he saw the assassin creeping towards him like a ghost. "Someone is always running away from me."

"No! No! Stay away!" The spy scrambled on to his feet and started to run again when Ezio pulled a throwing knife from his belt and sent it flying into the back of the man's calf. He cried out in pain as he slipped on the tiles again and fell on his back banging his head in the process. "Please, I am just following orders." He whimpered as Ezio came closer and kneeled down beside him.

"These orders are to spy on the Medici, correct?" The assassin said grabbing the handle of the throwing knife sticking out of the spy's calf causing the man to wince in pain. Ezio was going to use pain to get answers and this was not the first time he had done this.

"Si!" The spy cried out in pain. "He is waiting for the Medici to make the next move." Like a game of chess and Lorenzo had the advantage by keeping himself in one spot. There was also one thing that Lorenzo de'Medici had up his sleeve that could change the outcome of everything. "He wants to know if Lorenzo intends to call for the Council of Ten." With the Signoria dissolved and the Council of Ten reinstated in times of war, Lorenzo would have total control of Firenze.

"More like when he calls for it." Ezio said pulling the knife from the man's calf. "How many spies are watching the Palazzo?" He asked wiping the blood off of the throwing knife and then slipping it back in the empty slot on his belt.

"Only two." The man said throwing up his hands in defense as Ezio grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to stand. "They watch both entrances to the Palazzo." The spy was very forthcoming with information hoping to survive his encounter with the_ Assassino_ of Firenze. The ghost that comes in the night to kill those who have wronged him.

"_Bene_, I can make quick work of them." The assassin smirked as he let go of the man's shirt. "As for you." He said watching the man tense up as he awaited to hear his fate. Ezio had debated on sending the spy in front of him back to Riario, but there was one more thing he wanted to know. "Tell me what Riario knows of the Medici outside of Firenze?"

"He believes them to be in Roma, which is why Lorenzo's mother has come to the city." This made sense. Clarice would have likely sent Lucrezia if she could not be at Lorenzo's side, but at the same time, they must have seen Clarice leave. "We saw them leave through the south gate the day they left." Most likely a decoy, but that was a good way to throw them away from Pistoia. Ezio searched the man's fearful eyes to see if there was a hint of dishonesty and there was not, however, he could not let him go alive.

"Thank you for the information, but I cannot let you go back to Riario." Ezio said before stabbing the man in the chest with the hidden blade and walking away. "Requiescat in Pace." The sound of the man's body dropping back onto the tiles did not phase Ezio in the slightest because he knew that if the spy were to go back to Riario, he would have another excuse to find the Medici. Up ahead of him standing on the same roof was Volpe, who seemed to always appear at the opportune moment.

"Security has been lacking in Firenze lately." The master thief said as the assassin walked up to him. "Riario's spies are everywhere and so are Borgia's." That was a given since the two templar's were working together to gain control of Firenze and its republic.

"I did not come to Firenze to kill spies or fight a war." Yet, that was exactly what he felt he was going to be doing as long as Contessina was in Pistoia. He took in a deep breath before looking towards the Palazzo della Signoria where it seemed the meetings had been dismissed. "What else do I need to be aware of?" Ezio asked his friend while still looking in the distance.

"Some of the Signoria do not agree to what Lorenzo is proposing to do. They want him to do as Sixtus asks, but he will not." Volpe said putting a hand on Ezio's shoulder. "Lorenzo is not the same as he was. Giuliano's death has made him crave not only vengeance, but power."

"Contessina told me this would happen." The younger man said recalling what she told him about her grandfather and the ways of the Medici. "I did not want to believe her at first because Lorenzo has done so much for my family in the past, but I am starting to see." He had his doubts about Lorenzo's motives for the Signoria.

"He is not a bad man, Ezio, just ambitious and a visionary." If only that were all. Volpe patted the younger man's shoulder before walking away. "Come, tell me what must be done." Ezio followed the thief across the roof before explaining why he was in Firenze to begin with and how Contessina needed to get to her mother in Pistoia without being followed.

"I think I have a plan in mind, will you help me?" Ezio asked Volpe before they climbed down back into the streets below where his horse stood patiently waiting for him.

"You need not ask when Contessina is involved." There was a grin on the older man's face that told Ezio all he needed to do was say her name and Volpe would likely fish the moon out of the sky for the woman. The first thing Ezio needed to do was eliminate the spies around the Palazzo Medici.

There was no sleeping for Contessina. It must have been a little past midnight when she found herself walking in the garden. She was too anxious about the journey to Pistoia in the morning and even more so without her husband sleeping next to her. The air was very humid which promised rain within the next few hours, and to support that claim there was not a star in the sky. She wanted Ezio to go with her, but she knew he was not going to because there was the chance one of his targets would show themselves. He was not going to pass up an opportunity to take them out.

Strolling around with her mind elsewhere, she failed to notice the shadow creeping across the rooftops watching her. It was not until she heard the sounds of running across the tiles above that made her suck in a breath. Then there was the sound of another set of footsteps running after the first which caused her to turn around looking for whoever it was. Contessina's heart was beating faster by the time the footsteps stopped and then a body came crashed down to the ground almost in front of her. She was not expecting it, so she gasped and put a hand over her mouth to stifle the small yell that had made its way up her throat. With wide eyes she stared at the body in front of her not recognizing who the man was, but definitely knowing who killed him.

"What is going on out here?" Lorenzo's voice came out of nowhere. He had most likely heard the footsteps running across the roof as well and not far behind him was Lucrezia. He stopped when he saw the body on the ground in front of Contessina. "Contessina?" She did not say anything as Lucrezia moved closer to her and grabbed on to the blond who was visibly in shock.

"It is one of Riario's spies." Ezio's voice came from above and everyone looked up at him. "There were two of them watching the Palazzo." He said before making his way down from his position and going to stand next to the body.

"Of course." Lucrezia said holding on to Contessina who instantly relaxed when she saw her husband standing there. He briefly looked at her with apologetic eyes before squatting down to go through the pouches on the man's body. "We should have known he was watching us in some way. Even in Naples he has his eyes on us." The older woman said standing close behind Contessina.

"There are more of his men watching the gates." Ezio said pulling a small book from the inside of the man's doublet and reading it. "It's a list of people coming and going from the Palazzo plus every person's habits." He stood up and handed it to Lorenzo who hesitantly took it upon finding out they had been closely watched this entire time.

"Everything down to the moment we retire in the evenings." The Medici man said flipping through the booklet seeing times, dates, and names. Contessina looked over to her cousin seeing his face go from passive to disturbed beyond anything she had ever seen. "This invasion of privacy will not go unpunished." He said closing the book harshly. "Both spies have been killed then?" Lorenzo looked to the assassin.

"Si, and three more. One on the rooftops near the Piazza della Signoria and two at the West gate going to Pistoia." Ezio told him. There was an air of urgency before Lorenzo called for the guards to have the body removed from the garden and then he made everyone move indoors. "Riario believes your family is in Roma, which gives us the advantage." The young Auditore said as he walked beside Lorenzo.

"How so? I would not risk the bastard finding where my wife and children reside during this chaos." Contessina heard her cousin speak as Lucrezia stayed close to her when they entered Lorenzo's study. She knew her cousin was doing what he could to protect his family and Ezio was going to do the same to protect her.

"A decoy." Ezio said moving over to the map of Firenze on the table in the middle of the room. He had picked up two small figurines from Lorenzo's desk and put them on the map to help explain what he had in mind. "They expect a carriage headed for Roma to leave by the south gate in the morning and plan to follow it." He said putting the lion figurine on the south gate. "But if Contessina and Madonna Lucrezia were to leave earlier through the west gate, then they could get away safely." The younger man said putting the bird figurine on the west gate.

"You are playing to their expectations." Contessina spoke up catching her husband's eye. "Where are you going to get a second carriage?" She asked him to wander how they were going to travel. She knew Lucrezia was not well enough to travel by horse and so did Ezio.

"Madonna, I do not want to impose on you, but would you be willing to disguise yourself?" Oh, her husband was smart. Contessina narrowed her eyes at him knowing exactly what he was asking of Lucrezia and she knew exactly what her aunt would say to that.

"You want me to send my mother out there disguised as a commoner?" Lorenzo said almost raising his voice, but Lucrezia smiled at her son with a humoring glint in her brown eyes. She walked over to Lorenzo and put a hand on his arm.

"Lorenzo, if it gets us safely to Pistoia then I will do what it takes." Contessina was slightly taken aback by her aunt's willingness to go by Ezio's plan and then again, her aunt was the adventurous type. "I take it we will be riding in a farmer's cart?" She said looking to Ezio who nodded.

"I will follow for as long as I can." Ezio assured the two women while Contessina had no doubt he would ensure their safety as much as possible. The only thing that bothered her was the weather. Lucrezia was a hard woman, but she was not fond of the rain.

"Then it is settled. We leave as soon as we can make ourselves ready." The older Medici woman said with a smile on her face knowing she was going on a new adventure in a rather strange way. "We pack light. One trunk for the both of us." She said grabbing Contessina's arm with a smile on her face.

"Ezio, I'm not entirely sure this is a good plan. It seems so..." The blond said looking for the word but could not figure it out. Lorenzo interjected for her, but not with the right word.

"Unnecessary." That was not what she had intended, and she saw Ezio's face change and there was a slight hint of anger in his eyes. He stood up straight to level with Lorenzo when no one but Giovanni Auditore had ever done that before. In that moment Contessina knew that Ezio was no longer bowing down to the Medici and that was also the moment she realized he was holding his own. She could see Lorenzo's demeanor change from slightly annoyed to almost respectful and there was a glint of familiarity in his eyes.

"Do you want Riario to find your family?" Ezio asked in a tone that Contessina had never heard out of him. He seemed older than a young man on the cusp of nineteen and it surprised her. This was incredibly different from the time he killed Uberto Alberti in the courtyard of the Santa Croce.

"No." The Medici man said backing down and letting out a sigh realizing that the young man in front of him was more like Giovanni than he expected. He had to praise Ezio for standing up to him when no one else did. "You are more like your father than I thought." Lorenzo said with a small smile before looking to Contessina and his mother. "Gather your things and find a suitable disguise, you will be leaving tonight."

Sometime long before dawn, Contessina stood with Ezio at the west gate of Firenze as Medici men loaded up a small horse drawn wagon with a single trunk. She did not know how they were going to make it to Pistoia in such a fashion with Lucrezia's health not being what it once was. The cart was at least covered to keep them out of the rain if the weather turned like she predicted, but it was small and the person driving it was one of Volpe's thieves dressed as a simple farmer. Contessina wore her green riding dress with her wool cloak around her shoulders while Lucrezia was wearing close to the same thing.

"I will follow until I think it is safe." Ezio told her before grabbing her hand. "I still don't like that you are leaving me." The shoe was on the other foot this time. Instead of him leaving her behind, she was leaving him, and she almost felt a little satisfied in that, but at the same time she hated it. She put a hand on his cheek and smiled sadly.

"I don't like leaving you either, but I want to see my mother before she is no longer here." Contessina said knowing she was going to miss him more than she thought possible even though he was going to be within her sight for a while. She did not want to watch him ride away from her when they separated. He leaned his face down to kiss her before walking over to the cart with her.

"I understand." He said helping her into the cart before helping Lucrezia. The older woman seemed to be pleased with the way Ezio treated Contessina and smiled graciously.

"Grazie, Ezio, for making sure our family stays safe." The older Medici woman said as she settled into the cart with a smile while not letting go of the young man's hand. "You have grown into a handsome and noble young man, just like your father." She squeezed his hand and then winked at him before turning to Contessina. "You are both very lucky."

"Thank you for your kind words, Madonna Lucrezia." Ezio said bowing to her before making his way to his horse and climbing up before leading them out of the gates. The road to Pistoia would take at least a day at the slow pace they needed to go in order to not draw attention. That was the last thing they needed. He followed them after a while, keeping eyes on Contessina's tired form as he rode in the darkness.

Contessina had fallen asleep sometime later in the early light of dawn when Ezio made them stop. He wanted to say goodbye to her before he turned back to Firenze feeling they were at a safe enough distance. He had ridden up ahead of them a good distance to see if there was any sign of trouble, but the quiet of the countryside said all was well. They had to be close to San Martino where they could stop and rest when daylight made its appearance. Ezio was sure they would be fine from there without him and so he rode up next to the cart before getting off his horse.

"Contessina?" He said reaching in to put his hand on her cheek and her eyes blinked open. He hated letting her go on without him, but he did have a list of names to keep an eye out for. She sat up, looking at him with tired eyes.

"What is it?" She asked him before he gave her another kiss. Contessina knew this was where he was going to turn away from them and go back to Firenze. She saw that the sky was getting lighter through the grey clouds above and realized dawn was very near. Pulling away from him she sighed. "I don't know how long I will be in Pistoia for, but I can promise that as soon as I am able to, I will come back to you." She said putting a hand on his chest.

"I know." He said putting his hand over hers. "Do not write to me unless you have to. I don't want them to find you or your family." He was very sure that Lucrezia was watching them with a knowing smile on her face at seeing how much they did love one another. "Will you be able to handle things without me?"

"I'm more worried about Firenze surviving you. Try not to get into too much trouble." She gave him a smile before leaning up to kiss him again. Why was leaving so hard?

"I love you." He said when they parted. The words sounded so sweet coming from him and Contessina found herself wanting to hold on to him, but she had to let him go.

"I love you, too." She said as Ezio moved away and climbed back on his horse before galloping off in the direction of Firenze.


	28. Pistoia

**How is everyone doing in these rough times? I'm not going to ramble on too much about the chapter here. I plan to do a sort of explanation on the whole book after it is finished before I move on to the next one. **

**I hope everyone is fine and staying healthy. **

Ezio knew what he was looking for before it even appeared over the hills of Tuscany. Marching up the road to Firenze was an army from Naples and at the front of it was Girolamo Riario himself. Next to him the Prince of Naples rode atop his grey stallion while it pranced in anxiousness for war. They were marching from the south and were passing so close to Monteriggioni that Ezio was a little surprised they did not bother with the village. Marching an army through Toscana did not go unnoticed by the people with some of the farmers expecting there to be trouble.

After a month of marching from the south there was bound to be some trouble for the farms because it takes a lot of grain to feed a small army. This would impact the economy of not only Monteriggioni, but the villages around Toscana. There was also the chance that grain stores will be low for the winter because of said army. If one man was wanting to starve out an entire city for power, he was not long for this world. Not in Ezio's eyes anyway.

He sat atop his horse watching the army slowly make its way over the hills as it passed through the calm countryside. Ezio counted at least eight-hundred men on foot and a hundred cavalry on well-bred war horses. Riario's men staggered behind numbering just four hundred on foot with fifty cavalries clearly exhausted and on horses that had seen enough war. Ezio had to admit Riario was a genius tactician, but what he lacked was humanity. He wore his own men down in order to achieve his goals, yet he had barely been able to outsmart Lorenzo de'Medici. Now he was mad enough to siege Firenze with the help of Naples and Sixtus was allowing this to happen. It was Volterra all over again.

There was a debate going on within Ezio that had him thinking about what would happen if he did one thing or another. His options were to ride ahead to Firenze to warn the Medici that there was an army coming or to stay out of it entirely. With the news of an army there was no doubt that Lorenzo would dissolve the Signoria and appoint the Council of Ten. Either way, Ezio had to make a choice. There was also the factor of the Pazzi conspirators and their absence in Italia. They would likely return if there was a war going on to distract the Medici and of course, himself.

Against his better judgement, Ezio turned his horse in the direction of Firenze and kicked it into a gallop. He was more than positive that he had been seen sitting there in the open on the hill, but that did not matter now. What mattered was preparing the innocent lives of Firenze for something they had not seen in several years. Orgullo worked hard to get his rider to his destination by midnight and when the gates opened there was no stopping the assassin. Ezio rode straight to the Palazzo Medici with the poor gelding almost falling over as soon as they came to a stop.

"Take care of him." Ezio said as he pulled the reins over the head of the exhausted horse and handing them to one of the door wardens. He walked in through the doors of the Palazzo where Poliziano came walking up to him in a hurried pace. Upon seeing the urgent look on Ezio's face, the man matched pace with him. "Where is Lorenzo?"

"In his study." Poliziano said hearing the seriousness of the younger man's voice as they moved up the stairs and to the second floor where Lorenzo's study had been moved to. "I take it you have news?" The older man asked before coming to the landing at the top.

"I do and it is not good." The assassin said before walking into Lorenzo's study to find the Medici man sitting at his desk staring at the painting of his grandfather on the wall. He had his knuckles up to his lips lost in thought and when Ezio cleared his throat, the man snapped his attention away.

"Ezio." The older man said. "I wasn't expecting you back in Firenze so soon." Lorenzo looked up at the young man to see the serious look on his face.

"I would not be back if there wasn't an army of twelve hundred men marching towards Firenze." As soon as the words left Ezio's lips, the Medici patriarch stood up in shock having not expected this so soon. "Riario succeeded in gaining support from Naples." Of course, they all knew it was likely to happen, but they suspected it would take longer than it actually did.

"We do not have the numbers to combat such an army, not without allies." Poliziano said standing behind Ezio while the Medici walked from behind his desk to look at the map on the table near the fireplace. "Our alliance with Milan is shaken and Pisa barely has enough men to cover our advance."

"We must rely on Mercenary to cover the men we do not have." Lorenzo said. Ezio knew that mercenaries were not the best of choice when it came to winning wards. They fought for whoever paid the most and could quickly turn sides if payment was not given. Men who only honored money were less likely to honor an agreement or fight for a purpose.

"I do not think that is the best course of action." Ezio said trying to make Lorenzo see reason. "Mercenaries will only fight for coin." He crossed his arms as the Medici began to pace the floor trying to think of a plan.

"What do you suggest, Ezio?" Poliziano spoke up with curiosity in his voice. There was only one thing Ezio could think of that may help with the number of men available to fight.

"The people of Firenze." The assassin answered causing Lorenzo to stop pacing and look at him. "This is their home and if they love it, they will do all they can do defend it. They do not have to sit outside the walls and fight, but the number of men will give us the appearance that we have the advantage." The plan was brilliant in the way of intimidation but recruiting men within the city might be an issue. Lorenzo will have to work for their trust.

"This will not work." The older man said and Ezio sighed in defeat. The survival of Firenze depended on the people and Ezio felt he had nothing left to say. "We cannot ask the people to fight for something they did not start."

"No, but they will fight for their home and families. Is that not enough, Lorenzo?" Poliziano spoke up knowing the value of human life and what others will do to protect it. If anyone would be on Ezio's side in this, it would be a man like Angelo Poliziano. The Medici man sighed before moving to stand in front of the assassin. "They have that choice to make for themselves." There was a long look that came from Lorenzo as he thought of what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. Ezio's resolve on the matter was firm. He was not going to fight this war for Lorenzo, but he could at least give help on resources.

"Very well." He swallowed looking at the younger man in the eyes before looking away. "We will rally the citizens of Firenze." That was all Ezio wanted to hear come from Lorenzo's mouth and inwardly he was relieved, but he was not completely satisfied with the answer either. This was at least a step in the right direction.

The sounds of Piero and Giovanni de'Medici chasing each other on the lawn of the villa woke Contessina up. Somehow, she had dozed off on the veranda while reading a book for the third time that week. She did not know if it was the tranquility that Pistoia offered, but she knew that it was mildly boring on most days. When she was not reading, she was playing with the children or sitting with her sickly mother. Either way, she was bored, and it was starting to show. Contessina was accustomed to having some sort of task to keep her busy. There had been plenty to do in Monteriggioni and when she lived in Firenze, so why was she sitting without purpose in Pistoia?

Sitting up from where she laid on the padded bench, she closed the book as the two boys ran up the steps and into the house laughing at each other. Contessina smiled as she heard Clarice fussing at her two sons to stop running inside before they came barreling back out onto the lawn. They were playing like boys do when they are little. She remembered a time when Ezio and his older brother played just like the two children running after each other. Clarice came out on the veranda with her hand on her swollen belly and almost out of breath from chasing her children out.

"To be that innocent again." The older woman said looking out at her sons who were happily rolling around on the grass. "They know nothing of what is happening at home or what their father is dealing with." She said before looking to Contessina with a smile on her face.

"I suppose that is a blessing. I have been here a whole month and I have a hard time imagining what my husband is doing, much less what he has to deal with." Contessina said with a smile of her own as the older woman sat next to her. Clarice eased herself down on the bench as much as her swollen belly would allow her. There were only a couple months to go before the next Medici child was to be born and Ginevra was already insisting on the traditional ways of 'confinement'. "Sometimes I wonder if women will ever be free to do as they please other than bear their husbands heirs."

"Sometimes it feels that way for me." Clarice said looking on her sons as they played while rubbing her belly. There was a distance in her eyes that Contessina knew had to be thoughts of the stillborn twins Clarice had given birth to two years ago. It was obvious the woman was fearing the impending birth of her next child and Contessina feared for her as well. "Children are a gift and I love mine with everything I have. I think I love them more than my husband when the Lord says I must love him above all." Contessina gathered a hint that Clarice and Lorenzo were at odds with each other for the first time since their marriage began. The tone in her voice was so delicate and painful that the blond could not miss it.

"I do not know what words to say to comfort you, Clarice, but I can empathize at least on the part of husbands." Contessina said putting a hand on her cousin's shoulder offering comfort. "I love Ezio more than anyone or anything, but we have barely begun our life together." She looked down at her lap and Clarice reached up to grab her hand to hold it providing the same comfort. Their relationship had become so much better in the past month that Contessina had felt her safe to talk too.

"Everything will come in time. Perhaps this skirmish with Girolamo Riario will come to an end and then we can all go home where we belong." The older woman said and Contessina looked at her seeing the smile on Clarice's face brought a little hope. "Until then, comfort your mother and relax here with us. I find myself enjoying your company more than ever now." She said as Lucrezia's voice could be heard calling out Contessina's name.

"Contessina?" The older woman said coming onto the veranda looking for the young blond. "Oh, there you are. Your mother is wondering where you are." Lucrezia said standing there and Contessina nodded before standing up, however as soon as she did, she became lightheaded. Placing her hand on her forehead she waited a moment before it went away completely, and Clarice seemed to be concerned.

"Are you alright?" Her cousin asked putting a hand on her arm, but Contessina forced a smile on her face and nodded as a queasy feeling came over her for a moment. She could see the looks exchanged between Clarice and Lucrezia giving her some indication that they were suspicious.

"I'm fine, really. I stood up too fast and I haven't had anything to eat yet." Contessina smiled trying to give them the impression that she was alright when she knew this had not happened before. "I will go sit with my mother now."

"Make sure you eat something; we do not want you getting sick." Clarice said squeezing the blonde's arm in assurance before letting her go.

As Contessina walked off the veranda, she sighed before going into her mother's room on the first floor of the villa. Ginevra sat in a chair as usual looking out the open window at the beautiful garden. The day Contessina arrived at the villa in Pistoia, she had not expected her mother to look so frail and in pain. The blond had seen her mother in pain before and she had often left on long retreats to the baths to help with her joints, but as of late nothing had helped. The older woman hardly moved and had developed a cough over the time Contessina had been there. Often times, she had to help her mother eat because the woman was so frail.

"I should like to take a walk about the garden when I feel better." Ginevra's voice said when she heard her daughter's footsteps. "It's such a lovely day outside." That was a statement Contessina could not deny as she went to sit in the chair next to her mother.

"It is, although I am afraid to say I spent some of it sleeping on the veranda." Contessina said as she sat comfortably in the chair. "How are you feeling today, Mama?"

"Bored." Ginevra said drawing out the vowels before turning her attention back to the window. "Otherwise I am ready to get on my feet again." Contessina's mother was determined to get through her illness an any way possible.

"You know what the dottore said, Mama. You should rest." She tried to persuade her mother in the best way possible. The woman was positively driving almost everyone in the villa mad at this point and Contessina did not know if it was because she felt helpless or if it was because she knew she could. "When you are better, I promise you can walk about the garden as much as you want, but please do as Lucio says."

"Fine. Fine, you win mi cara." Ginevra smiled before reaching over slowly to put a hand on Contessina's cheek. "I am so happy that you came to Pistoia." She rubbed her daughter's cheek with her thumb. "I thought I would not live to see you again."

"To be honest, Mama, I expected Ezio to put up a fight about me leaving." Contessina had not said anything about Ezio's reluctance to let her go, but he let her go anyway. She loved him so much more for that.

"I thought so too. The boy has been in love with you for years." Her mother said with a loaded smile. "Both of you were blind to each other for so long." Contessina had a hard time understanding where Ginevra was coming from and she had the feeling her mother was getting her confessions out. "I know I seemed indifferent to your relationship and marriage to him, but I did not want to let you go."

"I realized that after I left Firenze with Ezio. I missed you, Mama." Contessina said as Ginevra dropped her hand and went back to looking out of the window. The birds were chirping, and the older woman seemed to go distant as if she had retreated into her mind.

"You will miss me more when your first child is born, and I will not be there to comfort you through your pain." The old woman looked over to her daughter with a tear rolling down her cheek. "I feel like I do not have much time left, but at the same time there is so much I want to witness." Her voice cracked as Contessina realized her mother was afraid to leave this world behind and leave behind the one person she had left.

"Mama, please don't cry." The blond got out of her chair and went to kneel in front of her mother, grabbing the woman's hands in her own. "I am here now." There was a pain in Contessina's heart that she had felt before. She felt it when she saw Ezio's father and brother's die before her with ropes around their necks. She felt it when Giuliano had been stabbed only months ago and now it was back again. This time it was different. Her mother was still alive, but she was speaking as though she were dying and that fear Contessina had of losing another loved one returned. "Mama, please don't speak like this." She said as tears came to her eyes.

"I am sorry, Giulia. My Giulia." Ginevra said trying to smile through her tears. "I did not mean to upset you so."

"It's alright, Mama." The blond said standing up again feeling a little queasy again like she did earlier. She put her hand on her abdomen before walking over to the window to get some air. Wiping away her tears, she looked back towards her mother who held a concerned look on her face. "It's nothing. I just need to eat something." She smiled before going back to sit with her mother.

Two weeks after Ezio had rode off to Firenze, he had returned to Monteriggioni looking a little worse for wear. The battle had not begun yet, but Lorenzo had taken to dissolve the Signoria and appointing ten men to help with the upcoming war. A good idea, but exactly what Sixtus and Riario were waiting for. Now, Lorenzo had made his bed and he would have to lie in it. There was nothing Ezio could do to help except find the men he was looking for. The problem was there was no sign or word of the men in question. Even with scouts posted all over Toscana, there was nothing.

"Nipote, you are back." Mario's voice caught Ezio as he walked into the stables with Orgullo behind him huffing from the ride. It was late at night, but he had taken his time to get back to the village. "What news of Firenze?"

"As we expected." The young man said leading his horse into the stall where he began to unsaddle the tired beast. "Riario has his army from Naples, Lorenzo is making an army of his own, and I am still trying to cross names off a list." He said in frustration as he removed Orgullo's saddle and put it on the door to the stall. "What are you doing out here, Uncle?"

"Waiting on the old mare to drop her foal. She's been holding out for nearly a year now." The older man said coming to lean on the door and putting his arms across the seat of the saddle. Ezio said nothing as he pulled the bridle off of his horse and allowed the old gelding to drink water. "I have high hopes for this one."

"For Siena or for something else?" Ezio asked before patting the bay horse on the neck and leaving his stall. He was exhausted and really did not care about the old gray mare in the large stall at the end of the row.

"Something else." Mario said putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "What did you do in Firenze?" There was a lot Ezio did in Firenze over the last two weeks, he just did not want to speak of it because it did annoy him.

"Volpe and I made plans in case trade routes are barricaded. We both agree that Riario is not above killing off supply to Firenze, so if that happens, we may have to give up some of our grain from last year if there is any left." Ezio said as he walked with his uncle towards the grey mare who was happily eating her hay with no intent on giving birth anytime soon. "We will suffer if they block trade and that is the only reason I am willing to help."

"I trust your reasoning on this, Nipote." Mario said before sitting down on a stool by the stall. "Like it or not, if Firenze suffers, so does Toscana. I will speak with the farmers and merchants we work with across the countryside. Perhaps they will be able to help in a way." He said as Ezio leaned against the stall door with his ankles crossed. "We will not abandon Firenze."

"Firenze is not the only thing I worry about." Ezio said crossing his arms before the mare went over to him and nuzzled his shoulder for a pet. He sighed before stroking her long face. "I worry about Contessina." Not hearing from her was different and something he did not like, but he had told her not to contact him until she was ready to leave Pistoia. When that day comes, he was going to go get her himself.

"I'm sure she is fine." Mario told him trying to ease his worry, but that was unlikely to happen as Ezio was concerned Riario would find out where Lorenzo's family is located. That was what bothered him the most and Volpe promised to keep an eye on anyone going to and from Pistoia. "It is best to keep yourself busy until she comes home, but for now, get some sleep. I intend to keep training you." Ezio said nothing in response before tiredly making his way out of the stables.

Giovanni protested when his mother told him to go to bed. Contessina sat in the drawing room with the children and their mother before bedtime. She had taken to telling the two boys a story before bed every night, usually with little Giovanni sitting in her lap as she rested on the floor. However, tonight Contessina was not quite in a mood to do anything but sit there. Clarice seemed to notice her pale complexion and had pulled her children to her before forcing them to their rooms. The blond felt that is she stood up; she would fall back down to the floor, so she stayed there for a while.

As soon as the sickening feeling went away, Contessina slowly stood up before making her way up the stairs to her room. Once there she began to undo the tight laces of her dress and when she pulled it off, she felt relief but also the heaviness of her breasts. Standing in front of the mirror in her white sleeping gown, she looked at herself feeling like she was looking at a stranger. When she turned to the side, she flattened the fabric against herself revealing the soft curve of her abdomen. There was no denying it now, not when Firenze was about to be at war and her husband was on the hunt for the men who attempted to murder her family.

Contessina had known for weeks that she was likely carrying a child. The signs were all there and judging by the looks Clarice and Lucrezia gave her every time she became lightheaded or queasy, they had known too. Both of them had gone through pregnancy enough times to know the signs by heart and she knew that they were going to ask her about it. Until then, she needed to conceal her pregnancy as much as possible. She did not want to distract him from his work and if it meant staying in Pistoia until then, she would do it. For now, she had to rely on her high waisted dresses to help keep her child safe.

She blew out the candles in the room before getting into her bed and laying there staring at the ceiling with her hand resting on her belly. She did not think this would happen so soon, not when she and Ezio barely had time to be together. Her mother would likely be overjoyed at the news, so would Maria and Claudia. Another grandchild for Maria, who did not have the opportunity to meet her grandson and may never get it. Then the thought of Ezio learning the news came to her. She was sure he would be happy because he did hold family close, but at the same time they were both so young. Not that it mattered, girls were producing children in their early teens these days.

What mattered was having family. Her child would be loved no matter what, she had no doubt about that. It was conceived in love and will grow up loved by her and Ezio. However, the darkest part of her mind knew that having a child was dangerous. She knew that her life was at risk now because women often died bringing new life into the world. Contessina was afraid and she knew that fear was likely not to go away until after her child was born, if it would be born.


	29. A Walk in the Garden

**Ya'll…I had some serious writers block going on with this one. I finally made it though. Setting up the end is not as easy as it looks. **

The heat of July bore down on Ezio's bare back as he looked at the younger man in front of him. The two of them were circling each other like two lions ready to fight, but Ezio knew he had the advantage over Sandro. He was broader and had strength on his side while the younger man was leaner. Of course, the training was mostly for Sandro to learn grappling and there was no better teacher than the assassin himself. The Auditore man's eyes looked for potential weaknesses in the boy's stance to give himself an opportunity just as he would if facing an armed combatant. Sandro kept his eyes on Ezio's trying to determine what he was going to do next.

The first move was made by the younger man thinking he could grab Ezio around the waist to knock him off balance. Ezio had been expecting it, but he still let out a gasp when Sandro nearly knocked the wind out of him. However, the broader man was able to use his center of gravity to stay standing before putting his arm under Sandro's and flipping him to the ground. Once the younger man was on the ground, Ezio was able to put him in a headlock causing the men around the ring to cheer.

"I yield!" Sandro yelled after a few moments of being held in Ezio's grasp. He slammed the palm of his hand down to tap out and then the older man let him go. "Best four out of five?" Sandro said as Ezio stood up offering him a hand.

"A little more practice, then maybe we can go again." He said pulling the lean young man off the ground and then patting him on the back. "You focus to much on what you think I might do rather than reacting to what I actually do." Ezio said before going over to sit on the wall.

"So, I should pay attention to what exactly?" Sandro asked standing there in front of the man he had come to respect.

"Your opponent's weaknesses." Mario's voice interrupted as he came to stand by his nephew. "You need to work more on observation and not focus on predicting moves. I saw you try to beat Ezio by rushing in before even making a decision, which will get you killed in a real fight." Ezio watched as the younger man's face fell at the mention of his mistakes.

"Don't worry, Sandro. You will get it in time." The assassin said trying to encourage his friend who seemed to be trying everything he knew to succeed. "As they say, Rome was not built in a day and neither was Firenze."

"Although, I'm sure if the Medici had any say in it, it would have been!" One of the mercenary's said before laughter erupted from the rest of the men around them. Ezio scoffed knowing that they were probably right about the Medici and knowing his wife's family, it was not out of their line of thinking.

"Alright, that is enough. Get back to it." Mario said as he watched the others come in closer to the ring. "Rufino, get in there with Sandro and work on his stance." The Auditore said as Ezio stood up to grab his shirt from the railing before putting it on along with his boots. "Nipote, where are you going?" Mario asked as the young Auditore began to walk towards the square for some time by himself.

"I'll be back, Uncle." He gave the old man a wave as he ran down the steps and through the village out to the stables. Ezio needed some time to himself after spending most of the day training himself to be a better fighter or in his case, assassin. No doubt he still had much to learn, but he was quickly becoming more refined in his skill.

The young man found himself leaning on the fence of the paddock where the broodmares were kept with their offspring. Most of the crop were on the ground sleeping in the hottest part of the day with their ears twitching or tails slapping the grass every now and then while their mothers grazed nearby. However, there was one little colt that was not set on sleeping. Instead the little thing was trying to pick a fight with his dam. Ezio had to chuckle at the little black colt. He was barely a week or so old and he was a force to be reckoned with. Mario had been right, there was something special about the old grey's foal and it was showing. Still, there was something he saw in the colt too.

"I think he may grey out." Mario said coming to stand next to his nephew. "I also think he may be a little too much for me to handle, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing." Ezio looked at his uncle with curiosity.

"My father told me you were the best horseman he had ever known and to hear you say you cannot handle a week-old colt...it surprises me." Ezio teased with a smirk on his face before propping his foot up on the bottom rail of the fence. The colt was now running and bucking as if he were the biggest of them all. "What are you going to do with him?"

"He'd make a fine warhorse someday, but I am not as young as I was." Mario told him. "You are good with horses, perhaps you should train him." Ezio looked over to the colt and thought about it for a moment. Orgullo was getting old and while Ezio trusted the bay gelding with his life, the horse deserved to live out the rest of his days in peace. Of course, it took years to train a war horse and then there was his other duties.

"I will think about it, Uncle." Ezio said before moving away from the fence and towards the entrance to the village with his uncle following him. They were almost to the gate when the sound of hooves running up behind them caught their attention. It was one of Gambalto's mercenaries.

"We found him! We found Maffei!" He said pulling his horse to a stop and hopping off. "Ser Ezio, Antonio Maffei is in San Gimignano." He said running up to the young assassin and his uncle out of breath.

"Are you sure?" Ezio could feel the anticipation boiling in his veins as he heard the news. Another name to cross off the list and one less Templar in the world to deal with.

"Si, Gambalto is there now keeping an eye on him." The man said causing Ezio to look at Mario for approval to act and the older man nodded his head before the young man turned to walk into the village.

"Ready my horse!"

The sound of the birds was comforting to Contessina as she walked through the garden slowly with her mother at her side. Ginevra insisted on getting out of the chair she had been sitting in for the last month or so to breathe the fresh air. The blond woman was happy to oblige her mother by helping her balance as she walked. Of course, Ginevra was trying to support herself by a cane in her free hand while Contessina's arm was wrapped around the crook of her elbow.

It had not occurred to the young woman how weak her mother had become in the past few weeks of being in Pistoia. Ginevra was even lucky to stand on her own, much less walk, but somehow, she had found the strength to go outside. Despite the heat, there was a gentle breeze that blew in from the west and it did help to combat the sweat that had formed on Contessina's brow. Her mother seemed to be handling it quite well, but then again, Contessina was with child. It seemed like over the last few days she had to work extra hard to move and stay active while also combating the nausea that plagued her most of the day.

"I miss walking in the gardens of Ferrara." The old woman said as she slowly walked under one of the great oaks that covered the garden. "They were so beautiful and well taken care of." Ginevra said with a nostalgic smile on her worn face and Contessina wondered just what her mother was eluding to. "When Cosimo was alive, I used to bring him to play in the gardens every day." The words that her mother said almost hurt because she had never gotten to meet her brother. "I regret never bringing you there."

"Mama, I understand why you didn't bring me to the gardens." Contessina gave her a smile before putting her free hand on top of her mother's forearm. The reasoning behind her mother's regret was completely excusable because she had lost her only son. She had been told before that losing a child was the worst feeling a woman could ever experience emotionally and giving birth was just as powerful.

"Even still, I wish I did." She squeezed her daughter's hand. "When I die, I would like to be buried with my family in Ferrara." There was a smile on Ginevra's face that told Contessina that she had made peace with the thought of dying. In the pit of the blonde's stomach, she had not yet come to terms with losing her mother as well. "I loved your father, but I never considered myself a Medici after our marriage, so I will not do them the dishonor. Nor myself."

"I never felt like I was a Medici either." Contessina said honestly as the breeze picked up enough to play with her golden strands. She could hear thunder in the distance as storms were coming in from the sea and making their way inland. "I will not lie to you, Mama, but I was jealous of Cammillia." Ginevra stopped when the words were uttered.

"Why?" The old woman said looking at her daughter. "What could you possibly have to be jealous about?"

"You treated her differently, almost like she was your daughter instead." There was a sadness in Contessina's voice that Ginevra had picked up on, and then the older woman understood what her daughter was speaking of.

"Giulia, I will always be your mother." Ginevra said as her cane fell to the ground. Contessina watched as her mother's right arm went slack and it seemed as though she had not noticed the cane falling. "Theeere waaassss..." Something was wrong when the blond noticed her mother's face become strange looking. The old woman's right eye started to droop along with her mouth and to be honest, it started to scare Contessina when her speech became slurred. "Connn...Connnn." Her mother was trying to say her name but could not.

"Mother! What is happening?" The blond did not understand what was going and it struck fear into her heart more than anything else. She felt her mother start falling to the ground and did her best to support the woman's weight as she fell. "HELP! AIUTAMI!" Contessina cried out hoping someone would hear her. "HELP!" She called as her mother went silent but still staring out at nothing with drool starting to pool in the corner of her mouth. "HELP ME!" Contessina screamed at the top of her lungs before a man came running around the corner of the hedges.

"Signora!" The man said before kneeling down and seeing the blonde's tears trailing down her cheeks as she cradled her mother's head in her lap. "Stay here! I'll go get help!" She watched as he stood up and ran as fast as he could out of the garden.

Two hours later, Contessina was sitting in a chair next to her mother's bed with the woman in a sleep-like state while the dottore examined her. There was no denying that Ginevra's days were coming to an end and by the look on the doctor's face, he did not have good news for her. Contessina subconsciously put a hand on her abdomen where her child was safely deep within her, but the thought that one day she too would leave her child was all too real. It could be at its birth for all she knew and that scared her the most.

"Hmmm...it is as I thought." The doctor said interrupting Contessina's thoughts and her eyes snapped up to him as he stood up to his full height. He was dressed in normal clothing as he was a local from Pistoia. It was evident that he had come right away and had not dressed in the normal black of a dottore.

"What is it?" Contessina inquired. She did not know what had happened to her mother but when she relayed to him what had happened before, he seemed to have a guess.

"It is simply put, a stroke." He said with a serious look before pulling a jar of leeches out of his bag. "There is little that can be done to reverse it I'm afraid, but leeches should help." Contessina watched as he opened the jar and pulled out a pair of small tweezers before dipping them in to pull out one of the slimy blood sucking creatures. When she saw the creature squirm her stomach churned hard and she had to cover her mouth as the bile rose in her throat. "I suggest you leave, Signora. This can get quite messy."

Contessina did not have to think twice about it as she quickly stood up from her chair and exited her mother's room going through the villa. Once back out in the air, she went around the corner of the building as fast as she could before letting the contents of her stomach out. She retched until her muscles hurt and then she leaned against the side of the building gasping for breath. At that moment she wanted Ezio. She wanted his arms around her while she cried, and she wanted to hear his voice so much that her heart hurt. She hated not being able to write to him or being able to tell her what was happening in Pistoia. She missed him so much but at least she had part of him with her. She placed her hand on her belly again. It was getting rounder every day and soon there would be no hiding her condition.

"Contessina?" Lucrezia's voice came from around the corner of the villa and soon enough the woman was in sight. Contessina did not bother to move from where she stood or move her hand from where it rested. She looked at Lucrezia with tears rolling down her cheeks and the woman sighed before moving over to her. "Oh, my dear girl." There was so much love and warmth in the older woman's voice when she embraced Contessina that the blond could not help but to sob. "It's alright. I'm here." When Contessina's sobs quieted, Lucrezia pulled back to get a good look at her.

"You know, don't you?" She asked the Medici woman who still had her hands on the blonde's shoulders. She suspected Lucrezia would be the first to figure out that she was with child.

"It is hard to miss the signs when you have had four children of your own." The woman said with a comforting smile before pulling her away from the outside walls of the villa. "Clarice knows too, but we will not say anything to anyone." She said. "Ezio does not know does he?"

"No, and I don't want him to know yet. It would take all his focus off of his mission and I do not want him to let his guard down." Contessina was adamant about this and Lucrezia nodded in understanding. It was clear that the older Medici woman knew of the Auditore lineage and the role they played in everything.

"Nothing will be said." Lucrezia assured her as they walked back into the villa together. "In the meantime, we must make sure your mother is comfortable in her last days." The words hit Contessina like a ton of stone and she stopped with a sorrowful look on her face.

"I do not know if I can do this." She said looking down at her hands trying to find the strength to carry on, but all of her fears were rushing up at her. It was not until Lucrezia grabbed her hands and held them that she was able to calm down.

"It is normal to be afraid." Lucrezia said letting go of one hand and putting a finger under Contessina's chin to lift it. "Especially with your first child and with your mother in the state she is in, it will be even more difficult. Know that we are here with you and we will guide you through this." The older woman said before pulling her into an embrace once more. "All will be well."

_Lorenzo,_

_It is with great success that I report Antonio Maffei's whereabouts have been discovered in San Gimignano. With this I also bring news that I have successfully assassinated one of the men involved in the plot against your family, along with Giuliano's murder. Maffei will no longer elude justice as he has met death. _

_The manner of his death was quick and as painless as I could provide, though not without a confession. In his last moments, Maffei told me of a meeting to take place between Borgia and Riario. I do not know anything other than that, but I do know it is a meeting I intend to be present for. I am sure my targets will have more answers for me as I find them, but until then, I will continue to hunt them down. _

_Ezio Auditore da Firenze_

He signed his name before folding up the letter and sealing it with wax. One more name crossed off his list, but still no information of the other men. Two days ago, Ezio had climbed the towers of San Gimignano without killing a single guard in the process and had been called an 'unholy demon' by his target. If he believed in demons, Ezio was sure that he may have been one, but as far as he knew he was very much human. His blood was red like anyone else's and he was mortal like everyone else, the only difference was that he did not care what other's thought. On the other hand, if someone insulted his family then he cared. No one insulted his family.

He leaned back in his chair before looking around his study that was quickly filling up with books from his uncle's library. Some of them had been brought up there by Contessina when she wanted to read with him on occasion. However, since she had been in Pistoia the volumes sat there gathering dust. He had left her name out of the letter to Lorenzo on purpose knowing that there could be spies reading correspondence between them. The last thing Ezio wanted was for Lorenzo's wife and children to be found along with Contessina.

There was no doubt in his mind that as soon as Contessina was able to come home, he was not letting her leave his sight again. Waiting for her to come home was torture, but not hearing a word was agonizing. Ezio supposed no news was good news, yet at the same time he wanted to know how she was feeling. Focusing on a task helped him ease the loneliness most days, but it did not keep her from his thoughts.

"Ezio!" Claudia's voice interrupted the thoughts going through his mind and he sighed. "Ezio! Come quick!" The sound of urgency in her voice made him think there was a fire or something in the village, so he quickly moved out of his chair.

"What is it?" He asked meeting his sister at the bottom of the stairs. "What is the matter?" He was outwardly calm, but on the inside, he was worried there was some terrible disaster that happened somewhere.

"We have received news from Firenze." She said before leading him through the hallway and down the main stairs to Mario's study. The older man was pacing as a messenger stood near the desk with a passive look on his face.

"Are you sure?" Mario asked the man who seemed to be in an awkward situation. "Nipote! There you are."

The first thing Ezio noticed about the messenger was the number of letters he was carrying in his satchel. From what he could see, the letters were for the people of Firenze. Most of them were likely letters to loved ones or official letters from tradesmen all over Italia, but the fact remained that they were in the satchel. If he had to guess, communication to Firenze was blocked and this meant Riario was going to do exactly as Ezio thought.

"That cunning bastard is not letting anyone into Firenze." The older Auditore said throwing a crumpled-up piece of paper at the wall before clenching his fists in anger. "Every road into the city has been blocked and if anyone tries to break through, they are killed."

"We knew this was going to happen, Uncle." Ezio said standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. "It was only a matter of time." That was not all. If Firenze was not accessible, then it would force Lorenzo to fight and Ezio knew the Medici was not going to give up that easily. "What of Lorenzo?" Ezio turned his attention to the messenger.

"He has already led out a counterattack four days ago with casualties." The man said gravely. "Firenze does not have enough soldiers to combat the army from Naples." Ezio already knew this as well, but this was not his war to fight. He was doing his part by hunting down the men responsible for starting the war in the first place and in essence, Lorenzo was just as responsible.

"How many men can you spare?" Ezio looked at his Uncle. He was going to do something to help Firenze, not the Medici.

"To fight a war. None." Mario answered.

"No, to help get supplies into the city." Ezio was going back to Firenze again.


	30. The Watcher

**I had writers block on this one so it will be a little shorter than usual. I want to start the next sequence of events in a new chapter. **

**I hope everyone is still doing fantastic! **

**Idekbruh and Djone246 – Thank you for your lovely reviews! : )**

The bed that Ginevra had slept peacefully in was now empty as Contessina stood at the foot of it for the third time that day. A week ago, her mother had a stroke and barely two days later the old woman had another rendering her permanently catatonic to the point she could not ingest anything. Contessina could see that her mother was giving up after a while and on the morning of August 2nd, Ginevra passed peacefully. The blonde's reaction at first had been to cry and when Lucrezia grabbed her, Contessina had collapsed onto the floor.

Now, the young woman gazed at the empty bed with her hand on her growing child feeling only sorrow. She felt as though there were things left unsaid between her and Ginevra that could never be said now. Her fears about being a mother and of course her jealousy towards Cammillia in the past, but now it was to be forgotten as her mother was no longer there. Her body had already been taken to Ferrara and buried there with the rest of the Alessandri family like she had wanted. There was so much Contessina already missed about her mother, including the no nonsense talk about her faith in God and the like. The woman had a strong belief in God where Contessina did not and that was where they clashed over the years. She wished now that she had understood more about why her mother believed so hard and condemned those who did not.

Reflecting on these things only served to dampen Contessina's mood as the day went on and with nothing to do around the villa, her mourning kept going. She was not angry that her mother had died like she thought she would be, but she was numb. With Giuliano and the Auditore men, she had become rightfully angry because their deaths were unexpected and brutal. They died in a manner that was unforgivable, yet she had taken out her anger on a poor guard in the Palazzo della Signoria. After that, she vowed to never kill again out of anger.

Peaceful death was different. Contessina had the time to process her mother's death before she died and because of this all she felt was the absence. She had grown accustomed to sitting and talking with her mother every day for that was all Ginevra could really do to pass her time. Contessina had thought Ginevra insisting on a walk in the garden could have been the reason for her stroke. If she had not demanded it, would she still be sitting in the chair by the window? There was no way of knowing. Contessina was so lost in thought that she did not hear the footsteps of Piero and Giovanni running in the hall behind her.

"I'm going to get you!" Piero's voice pulled Contessina out of her trance when the child ran past the doors again following his brother. She tuned to look in their direction before gathering up her skirts to go scold them for running through the villa. "Come back you barbarian!"

"Boys!" Contessina said raising her voice as she moved into the hallway and the two children stopped dead. "No running. You know better and your mother is trying to rest."

"Sorry, Zia." They both looked up at her with a pout on her face before she walked up to them and kneeled down to their level. The two boys always considered her their aunt rather than their cousin and she did not mind this at all.

"It is alright." The blond grabbed their hands and smiled. "Perhaps we should go out into the garden and play." Contessina stood up with a hand from each of the boys in hers before leading them through the villa and out to the yard in the garden. "Now, stay where I can see you."

"Si, Zia!" Giovanni was the first one to start running away from his brother with a high-pitched laugh.

"Come back here! I'm going to get you!" Piero said picking up a stick he found before chasing his little brother. "Come back here you barbarian!" They reminded her so much of Ezio it was hard to not remember the days she played with him.

"You will never catch me you dirty Roman!" She smiled as Giovanni turned around before picking up a stick of his own and facing down his older brother. Piero was only a year and three months older, but sometimes they looked the same age. "I will conquer Rome for my people!" He held up his sword as Contessina slowly sat down on the grass with her dark blue dress hem in a puddle around her.

"Oh really? Well I am Caesar; Emperor of Rome and my armies can destroy yours!" Piero said reminding Contessina very much of her husband in his games of imagination as Spartacus. "I will defeat you!" The older boy said before charging at his brother and bringing his stick down on the younger boy with a mighty yell.

"Careful, Piero, try not to hurt your brother." Contessina had to remind them that they needed to be gentle with one another and she did so with a sweet smile on her face. She watched as the boys hit their sticks together as if they were in an actual sword fight when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a shadow in the hedges.

At first, she thought it was her mind playing tricks, but when she looked harder, she could make out the shape of a man in a traveler's cloak. Contessina found it odd that someone would be watching her play with children, but when he turned away to walk through the gap in the hedge, she knew it was something else. She stood up immediately before calling the boys to her and pulling them close.

"Piero, take your brother inside and find your grandmother." She said in a panic. "Do not come back out." She watched as Piero grabbed on to Giovanni and pulled him away into the house. They had both dropped their sticks on the ground at her feet.

Reluctantly, she gathered up her skirts before following in the direction the traveler went. She knew that it led to the back of the garden into the woods behind the villa which was a perfect way to leave unnoticed. She walked quickly after seeing the tail end of his cloak when he turned the corner around the tall hedges. Part of her knew better than to chase a spy, but she also knew that if she did not find him, he could tell anyone that the Medici family were vulnerable. What did not help was that the hedges made the back garden a labyrinth where there was only one exit.

Turning the corner to her left she caught another glimpse of the brown traveler's cloak before it disappeared again and the man along with it. Now she was out of breath looking for a mysterious person who was likely a spy. She put a hand on her stomach before moving forward and turning the corner to the right where she had seen the man go. When she did, there was no one there, only a long corridor that no one could really hide in. She wondered if it was a figment of her imagination at first, but when she heard voices talking as two gardeners walked around the corner on the far end. Both men held rakes in their hands as their feet crunched on the gravel beneath their feet. When they noticed Contessina out of breath, they looked at one another before making their way to her with concerned looks on their faces.

"Signora, are you alright?" The older of the two men, who Contessina knew as Franco asked her as she struggled to catch her breath. The younger man she had only seen once and that was the day her mother collapsed in the garden.

"Did either of you see a man in a brown travelers cloak run through here?" Contessina asked before putting a hand on her forehead trying to hold back the dizzy feeling that was starting to overwhelm her. "He was..."

"Signora, we have seen no one all day except the stable hand." The young man said. "Are you sure you alright?" He said reaching out to stable her as she began to fall backwards. "Signora!"

"Miguel! Catch her!" Contessina heard before her vision went dark and her body limp.

There was a plan to smuggle provisions and grain into Firenze. Ezio had gathered his allies in the city right after arriving at Leonardo's workshop and they had continued to go off the plan they had started months ago. With the blockades in place keeping people and trade from entering Firenze, there were few options at that point, but there was one that could work. Leonardo proposed using the river as a way to get passed the guards and Riario's men. Moving everything would take several boat trips to the location where Ezio designated as a safe location to load.

Thankfully, the moon was a waning crescent which limited the light on the river as the thieves guided the shallow draft boat down the Arno. Ezio stood at the front keeping his sharp eyes on the banks of the river just in case there were spies keeping watch for any suspicious activity. That was the last thing Ezio needed and it was certainly going to put a block on their plans, however, it seemed their route was clear. He had hoped there would be fog to cover them, but the air was too warm and humid to draw clouds from the sky. He was glad for anything to help with the task at hand.

To blend in more with the darkness, Ezio had found a black cloak to conceal himself so that any light could not reflect off the white of his robes. He also did not want Lorenzo or Riario to know that he was back in Firenze so keeping a low profile was paramount to the plan working. He could see the shapes of Mario's men down the river with the help of his 'gift'. To him it was like a cat or an owl with their night vision although after a while his eyes would ache.

"Easy. We don't want to make a lot of noise." Ezio kept his voice low as he turned to look at the two thieves in the boat behind him. They nodded as the boat was steered to the bank of the river as quietly as possible.

"I thought you were a phantom on the water." Gambalto's voice came out of the darkness when the boat landed and Ezio stepped onto the grassy bank. "Like Charon the boatman. Very unpleasant that sight is." The man said pretending to shudder in the dark. "We only brought one load tonight."

"Anything is better than nothing, brother." Ezio said putting a hand on the mercenary's shoulder before turning to the thieves in the boat. "You know what to do." He nodded to the two men and then to the group of mercenaries standing around the cart full of grain and vegetables.

"Somehow I thought this was going to be more exciting." Gambalto stood watching the men move sacks of grain to the boat which could only handle so much before they would have to return.

"If we are discovered it will be more exciting." The younger man smiled at his friend before grabbing his own sack of grain and bringing it to the boat. "I do not think it can hold any more than this." Ezio counted the sacks in the boat by putting a hand on each one in the darkness.

"One load down, two more to go." Gambalto said as Ezio sent the boat back up the river to Firenze to unload the provisions at the location he and Volpe agreed on. "Maybe if you can find another boat to tow behind this one, we might be able to work quicker with the next shipment." It was not a bad idea on Gambalto's part, but there was a small problem of the number of boats available on the Arno.

"I'll look into it." Ezio said as he watched the boat loaded down with grain make its way slowly up the river.

At the moment, they were lucky no one had seen them and Ezio was thankful the moon was not so bright this time. The next time though, they might not go unseen by anyone. The timing had to be right and the next two loads proved they were working on an hour per direction. This complicated a few things as Ezio would have to find a way to make the trips shorter and while Gambalto's idea of two boat would shorten the time, there was a greater chance of them being seen. This was a dilemma that could be solved if they all thought about it.

Contessina slowly opened her eyes in the darkness of her room. The only light to be had was the candle on her bedside table that barely emitted enough light to drive out the seemingly unnatural darkness that surrounded her. After a moment of gathering her bearings, she removed the covers from herself and sat up before planting her feet on the rug. Without the candle, Contessina felt as though the black air around her would swallow her whole, so she picked it up. For whatever reason, she felt herself being drawn to the garden and she took to finding her way in the darkness with only one small flame to guide her.

The air was still as she made her way down the stairs to the bottom floor of the villa and there was silence all around her. Not even the sound of frogs croaking in the pond outside or the sound of summer cicadas, just the sound of her heart beating in her ears. She was almost to the bottom of the stairs when she felt a hand brush against her back causing her to spin around, but there was no one there. Then there was the sound of footsteps running across the floor back towards the bottom step, so she spun around again only to see nothing.

The blond let out a gasp when the sound of glass crashing against the stone floor was heard in the distance and then the heavy drop of a body. Contessina could not see anything which made her heart start racing until all was silent again. The sinking feeling in her stomach kept her rooted to the step, but at the same time she wanted to find out what was making all the noise. Instead of listening to the trepidation in her gut, she went on to discover the origin of the noises she heard in the pitch-black darkness. When she turned the light of the candle to the direction of the sound a face appeared in front of her and she screamed.

Opening her eyes, Contessina sat up in her bed still hearing the echo of her scream in her ears. The room was dark other than the three or four candles that had been placed on the mantle of the fireplace. Not a moment after waking the door flew open when Lucrezia ran in with a worried look on her face and a lamp in her hand to light her way through the dark villa. She was still in her night clothes and she had obviously heard Contessina scream out in her sleep.

"Contessina!" The woman gave the blond sitting up in the bed a frightful look. "Are you alright? Did something happen?" Lucrezia said putting her lamp on the bedside table before sitting down on the bed next to the younger woman. Contessina had not caught her breath when she felt the older woman put a hand on her forehead. "Breathe child." She put her hands on Contessina's upper arms.

"He found us..." Contessina whispered out after calming herself a little. She could not get the face out of her mind knowing exactly who she had seen, and it was not her husband. The confused look on Lucrezia's face seemed to make Contessina feel as though she were losing her mind, but perhaps it was not so. "Before I passed out in the garden, I was following a man. He was wearing a brown traveler's cloak, but I couldn't see his face." She looked down at her hands in her lap and then put a hand on her rounded belly feeling dread pool in her stomach. "He was watching us."

"Are you sure?" Lucrezia asked her with a serious look on her face and grabbing the blonde's hands. Contessina nodded with clear assurance in her blue eyes and the clever Medici woman put on her thoughtful face before moving off of the bed. "Then you better come with me." She grabbed her lamp off of the table before allowing Contessina to get out of bed and put on her robe.

Lucrezia was a very intelligent woman who had run the Medici bank in her husband's name for some time before her son took over. Even after, she still had a major role within the family and to be honest, Contessina did not think the bank would survive without Lucrezia's knowledge. She was sure her aunt had a plan for everything that came up unexpectedly and if the woman did not, she improvised on the spot. Just as it was that moment when she led Contessina down the halls of the villa to the kitchen with an escape plan in mind.

"Ah, here we are." Lucrezia said coming to the old rug laying on the floor in the storeroom at the back of the kitchen. The room was where all the dry goods were stored, and dried herbs hung in bundles from the rafters making the whole space smell like salt and garlic. The smell was making Contessina queasy enough to want to leave then and there. "Hold this." Lucrezia handed her the lamp before the older woman bent over to pull back the old rug to reveal a trap door in the stone floor.

"What is in there?" Contessina asked looking at the old wooden door that had seen better days.

"It is where Genoese smugglers hid their stash." Lucrezia opened the door with little trouble to reveal a dark pit. "There is enough room down there to hide at least thirty people." Contessina knelt down and peered in with the lamp to see the walls lined with shelves and wine racks; all of them empty of course since smuggling was no longer needed. She looked up at Lucrezia with a thought in her mind and it was fairly obvious her aunt had the same idea.

"Can the door to the storeroom be locked from the inside?" Contessina asked holding the lamp up and looking to the narrow door that was open wide. The door was solid and heavy enough to provide a little resistance if needed.

"From the outside, I'm afraid." Lucrezia said. This meant that someone would have to stay behind while the children and Clarice were hiding in the room below. Contessina's eyes darted back and forth as she chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "But if we were to be attacked, this is where I would want us to hide."

"Zia, someone would have to put the rug over the trap door and then lock the door from the outside." She said looking up at her dark-haired aunt. "Not to mention if the door is locked, we shall be trapped down there for who knows how long before we are discovered."

"Then I shall be the one to do it." The older woman said with a stubborn look in her eyes that Contessina had seem many times before. There was no talking Lucrezia out of any decision she made, but Clarice and the boys were the more important ones.

"It is better if I were to be the one to do it." Contessina said standing up and looking her aunt in the eye with conviction. "Riario means to end the Medici and if that happens then all of Firenze will be in the hands of evil men. I must do what I can to prevent that from happening even if it means my life." Lucrezia's face went from serious to shocked.

"Contessina! What if they kill you? What about your child? You are going to be a mother." The woman said putting a hand on Contessina's abdomen to emphasize her point and the blond knew what she was saying. The thought of losing her child was terrifying, but she was also afraid to lose Clarice and the children as well. She sighed putting her hand over Lucrezia's before nodding.

"Then what do we do, Zia?" Contessina asked feeling hopeless because of her pregnancy. If Ezio even had an inkling about any of this, he would never let her out of his sight again. She was sure he would ride all the way to Pistoia and then never want anything to do with the Medici ever again after taking her back home.

"We will plan accordingly, but for now, you and I both need to rest." Lucrezia said with a small smile as Contessina felt nothing but worry.


	31. Friend or Foe

**Hello all! I am sorry for the late update; my job was taking over my time and I was also sick at one point. Anyway, no more excuses because we are getting serious now. **

**There is a very sad part at the end concerning a horse, so please, if you are sensitive to the subject you have been warned. This is something every horse owner has to deal with and its hard. **

There were seventy bags of grain lining the walls of the small warehouse on the banks of the Arno. Each bag weighed approximately twenty-three kilograms and every morning they were counted twice to make sure no one had stolen any. Over the last couple days Poliziano had been making deals with the merchants to keep commerce flowing. The grain was sold at the lowest price, which would compensate for the farms in Toscana who were willing to keep the grain going to Firenze. All in all, the plan was going well. Thirty bags had been distributed throughout the city in the last day while the rest sat there in front of Ezio.

"How long do you think this will last?" Ezio said motioning towards the sacks of grain as Poliziano counted them for the second time. The man barely missed the well-aimed dropping from a pigeon up in the rafters and gave the bird a glare. Ezio held back a chuckle upon seeing the normally formal man give a bird a devil look.

"Hard to say really. Maybe a week if the merchants keep it to themselves." Poliziano wrote the time and date down in his little notebook with a charcoal stick before placing it in his robes. "We will be lucky to make it to the next load if someone says something." He huffed before moving over to the assassin.

"If the merchants say anything, they will lose florins over it. I doubt that they would be willing to forfeit income over gossip." Ezio may not be a banker by trade, but he was still a banker's son and he knew how to manage money. After all, his father made sure he and his brother had the proper tutoring for it. All the lessons in Spanish and French, plus mathematics, writing, and everything else a nobleman needed to succeed in life were not for nothing. "It is a poor move on their part."

"Indeed." The strict man responded. "My concern is more over the rumors that may spill over into Riario's camp. We do not need him watching for mysterious shipments of grain arriving within Firenze's walls." That was the last obstacle they all needed and Ezio nodded in agreement just as the door to the warehouse opened. "Ah, just who I wanted to see." Volpe did not smirk or smile at either man as he walked up to them and judging by the urgency in his steps, Ezio knew something was off.

"That bastard had spies watching Lorenzo's family for the last two months." The master thief said as he came to a stop before Ezio and looked him in the eyes. "He knew they were in Pistoia all this time." As soon as the words left Volpe's mouth, dread sunk into the pit of Ezio's stomach and Contessina's face flashed across his mind. "One of them returned late last night after being seen."

"Seen by who?" Poliziano asked with a curious look on his face.

"Tito said the spy mentioned a blond woman with the Medici." Volpe looked directly at Ezio in confirmation of what they both suspected in that moment. There was only one blond woman they both knew, and she was hardly the standard dark-haired Italian woman. "Riario is sending out his best spies to assassinate the entire family and they leave at first light tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Ezio went defensive knowing that Volpe would never lie to him about something that involved Contessina. Poliziano stood there watching the young assassin suddenly become ridged and ready for a fight.

"There can be no doubt about it, Ezio. Riario has played us for fools this entire time." The stern man spoke up. "Did your spy say anything else?" He asked Volpe who only shook his head.

"Merda." Ezio did not know if he should be angry or frightened. He began to pace as he was known to do in stressful situations. He knew it had been a mistake to let Contessina go to Pistoia and now she was in mortal danger. This was probably why he stayed in Firenze instead of staying home in Monteriggioni. He was closer to Pistoia and if needed, he was a day's ride away from his wife.

"There is no way Lorenzo can leave Firenze without becoming a target himself." Poliziano mentioned as the younger man paced with Volpe's eyes following the assassin's movements. He too had a very worried look on his face. "Volpe, tell us everything about what Tito heard."

"He heard the spy recount everything. The girl, most likely Contessina, saw him and chased him through the gardens before running into the caretakers. He told Riario that she fainted not long after." Ezio stopped at the mention of Contessina fainting before Volpe continued. "Riario has been receiving letters from his spies the past two months. One of them is within the staff that runs the villa" Volpe seemed to be holding back on information, but it was likely for good reason. "He knows everything from the time they wake up to the time they go to sleep."

"Are you certain this is everything?" Poliziano asked.

"Si." The thief said before Lorenzo's most trusted advisor turned away from them with purpose in his steps.

"I must inform Lorenzo immediately." Ezio heard him say as he walked out the door and into the sunlight. He knew that Lorenzo was likely to run to Pistoia the moment he learned his family was in danger, but Poliziano was right. Lorenzo would be making himself vulnerable and Riario would succeed in gaining Firenze if the Medici patriarch was killed. Ezio looked to Volpe who seemed to be anxious to say something to him.

"What is it?" He asked the thief who was quick to say what needed to be said.

"There was something Tito said to me that did not make sense and I wanted you to hear of it first." It was not in Volpe's character to hold back on something, but for some reason he was very reluctant to say what he had learned from his spy. "Riario's spy mentioned that there was three women, one who we know to be Lucrezia and then two who are with child." Ezio stood still when he heard the words. "You have more at stake than you think, Ezio."

Ezio had to sit down. He did not know if he could stand so he moved to the closest thing he could find that was stable enough to hold him up. The sacks of grain seemed to be the perfect rest for him as he felt the world suddenly disappear beneath him. When the words came from Volpe's mouth, Ezio was not sure what to think. At first, he thought it was some sort of mistake and the spy was completely wrong, but then reality sunk in when he thought about it. There had been four women at the villa in Pistoia. One of them had clearly passed on while Clarice was still heavily pregnant, and this left Contessina as the only one young enough to bear children. He put a hand on his face and then sighed before resting his chin on the same hand.

"Riario's spies leave at first light, correct?" Ezio looked up at Volpe who seemed to be waiting for him to collect himself and start focusing on the task at hand.

"Si. If you leave after dark, you will be a few hours ahead." The thief waited until Ezio stood up to put a hand on the young man's shoulder in comfort and of course, support. "Ezio, if you leave through the river gate and follow it past the barricades, you will be able to go unnoticed." The assassin nodded.

"Thank you for telling me the truth, Volpe." Ezio said with a solemn look on his face but the appreciation in his eyes spoke volumes to the older man who squeezed his shoulder.

"I debated on telling you because I was not sure you could put the task at hand before Contessina, but perhaps I should not have worried over it." Volpe gave Ezio a small smile of comfort before backing away a step. "Your father valued his family above all else and everything he did was to keep his family safe. I have no doubt you will do the same."

"My father was also an assassin." Ezio said pulling up his hood and began to make his way towards the door to the warehouse. In his mind there were questions he wished he could have asked his father before it was too late.

There was nothing better than the taste of a juicy ripe pear and Contessina could not get enough of them. Over the last couple days since she passed out in the garden, she had craved nothing but pears. Of course, one could not eat pears without a block of cheese to which was happily provided to her. Her aversion to most foods had gone away, which was a wonderful thing in itself, but the worry over the coming storm did not go away. Instead she pondered the threat of spies coming in to destroy her family quite a bit during the night. Sometimes, Contessina was unable to sleep at all and often found herself going to the storeroom where her favorite treats were.

Sometimes she could sleep, but it was not a deep sleep. Any little noise woke her from what little rest she got, and she had taken to keeping a candle lit next to her bed so that she may find her way. Lucrezia had told Contessina numerous times over the last couple days that stress would hurt the child growing within her, but that only served to stress her even more. As it was, she was still unsure of the child or even how Ezio was going to take to the news. Part of her was terrified that he would be angry because of the timing, while the other half knew he was going to accept the news with open arms. It was hard not to imagine either reaction from her unsuspecting husband.

As she bit into a pear, she could not help but to moan at the flavor exploding in her mouth. Despite her worries, she opted to walk them off in order to keep her mind free at least for a moment and sometimes strolling through the garden did help. The birds singing in the trees kept her thoughts on the different chirps and not really paying attention to where she was going. Contessina found herself walking by the fountain and for a moment she thought about sitting down, but when she noticed the young man that tended the garden weeding, she decided to join him. She had not gotten a good look at the young man before, but he was definitely Spanish. He sang a song in his native language which she understood perfectly given that her mother tongue was a sister dialect. As she walked closer, he did not bother to turn his head to look at her, but somehow, he knew she was there already.

"I see you are feeling much better, Signora." He said pulling out weeds and sitting them to the side.

"Much better." She smiled as he turned around to face her while still on his knees. He was handsome and had the same deep brown eyes that she had seen in many Spaniards before. "I suppose I have you to thank again for coming to my rescue?"

"Think nothing of it." He said standing up before wiping his knees off. "I am only doing my duty." He gave her a smile.

"Duty? I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand." Contessina's face contorted into that of confusion because of his words and he simply waved them off.

"Ah, right, I suppose I should explain." The Spaniard said putting his hands on his hips and looking down at his feet as he bit on his bottom lip. "I was told to look after the family by Signore Lorenzo." He looked up at her with honest eyes confirming that he had nothing to hide from her. "I owe him a great deal since he helped my family settle here in Pistoia."

"You are refugees from Castile?" She asked him and he looked out at the garden as if he were deciding on how to answer the question. Most of the Castilian refugees were Muslim and some did not believe in religion at all so she could understand why he was hesitant to answer. "I'm sorry I did not mean to pry."

"No, no, do not think you are hurting me by prying." He said taking off his gloves. "The truth is, we fled from Castile because we had no choice. My family is neither Catholic or Muslim and the Inquisition is relentless no matter what. I was only a boy at the time, so I did not understand." He was incredibly honest with her but at the same time she had a feeling he was holding something back that he did not want her to know. "You can only do so much when you are a child."

"What do you believe in then, Signore?" Contessina asked feeling as though he could be a potential ally if Riario sent his spies.

"Please, call me Miguel." The Spanish man said with a polite smile making his demeanor more welcoming and she smiled back at him. "I believe that a man is free to choose his own destiny despite the circumstances and it does not matter what god he believes in as long as he knows what is right and wrong." Miguel said it with such pride that she could see his heart swell. It seemed that Miguel and Ezio had a lot in common.

"Don't let the religious zealots here you say that." Contessina joked before taking another bite of her pear and then threw what was left of it into the bushes. "Do you have a family of your own?"

"I do." He seemed to beam with even more pride. "My wife is Serafina." The blond knew who he spoke of. The brunette girl who arranged the flowers in her room every morning and made sure the candlesticks were exchanged. Contessina had only spoken with her a few times, but the woman was very polite and seemed intimidated by the family that occupied the villa. "She likes you, by the way. She is a very nervous person and often feels as though no one really likes her."

"That cannot be further from the truth. I happen to think she is very pleasant to speak with and I appreciate her very much." She did not want to sound ungrateful to Miguel, because she was not. She often did things for herself because she enjoyed it, but Serafina did not have much to do for her and Contessina was very thankful for what little the woman did. Miguel gave her an appreciative look.

"She will be happy to know that." He bowed his head at her in thanks before putting his leather gloves back on. She smiled before turning away and then turned back to inquire on something that had been in the back of her mind.

"Miguel, who was the man you were with in the garden the other day?" She asked him and he looked up at her with raised eyebrows at the sudden inquiry.

"That was Luigi, the new gardener." The Spaniard told her, and something did not seem right. "He started working here not long after Signora Medici and her children arrived." Now she was sure of it. "I do not know him very well, but I can never find him when I need him. I often find him lurking around places he shouldn't be."

"I think you should fire him." Contessina said with a serious look on her face and he seemed to catch her meaning. "If he hasn't left to inform Riario already."

"Signora?" He gave her a questioning look.

"Please keep looking after us, Miguel. You do not know how much we appreciate it." Contessina said before bowing her head in thanks and then leaving the groundskeeper there in a state of confusion.

The new moon gave Ezio the cover of darkness he needed to leave Firenze unnoticed by the river gate. His bay horse blended in with the night perfectly as he trotted away from the walls of the city following the banks of the Arno. The muggy air was almost unbearable as he pushed Orgullo into a gallop across the land. The gelding's hooves pounded on the dry ground while his stride ate it up in haste upon feeling Ezio's impatience. Orgullo was a warhorse, he was not built for speed and Ezio knew this, but the young man trusted his steed and that was what mattered.

The trees along the banks of the river concealed the horse and rider from sight of the visible blockade on the road. Ezio had to slow his horse to a stop and watch from the darkness as seven men guarded a wooden fence that had been erected in the middle of the road. On the fence were stakes that would not allow for a horse to clear the structure without being impaled or injured. When Contessina left Firenze, this blockade had not been there. He could feel Orgullo growing antsy underneath him and he put a quiet hand on the bay's neck to quiet him.

"Easy." He whispered to the horse before turning him away from the blockade to continue on his way to Pistoia. "Let's go." Ezio kicked the horse into a slow gallop in order to get away without being noticed.

He only made it a little further when an arrow planted itself into Orgullo's hind quarters. The gelding screamed out in pain and stopped before bucking hard to get the arrow dislodged from his flesh. The horse put his head down which threw Ezio off balance enough to fall onto the ground with a heavy thud. He had not expected this at all. The sound of hooves trotting up behind him made Ezio get to his feet quickly as two riders came into view. They must have been hidden within the trees waiting for someone to come along. Orgullo had not run away but stood there with his leg limp and head down in submission while Ezio prepared to fight.

"Look at what we have here." A crossbow in the hand of the rider on the grey horse was pointed at the assassin while the other man held a sword. "If I did not know any better, I'd say we have the assassin right here in our grasp."

"Clearly you do not know better." Ezio said as he put his hands on his hips and shook his head. He turned his head to look at his horse who was no good to travel now, but the grey horse seemed sturdy and fast enough to take Orgullo's place while he recovered. This was going to set him back a while. "I like your horse." Ezio smirked before taking a throwing knife and launching it at the man on the grey horse.

The knife hit the man on the grey right were Ezio intended it to hit causing him to reel back on his horse and grab his bleeding neck. The other man saw this and immediately acted by pushing his horse forward in order to hit Ezio, but the assassin was too quick and dodged. The man let out an irritated yell before turning his horse around and swinging his sword at the assassin only for the swing to miss. Ezio was able to grab on to the man and pull him off the horse before stabbing him in the neck with his hidden blade while the other man fell off the grey horse having passed out from blood loss.

Looking over at his wounded horse, Ezio sighed knowing there was nothing he could do for his trusted companion. Perhaps someone in Firenze could look after him, but the arrow looked as though it went deep. He stepped over to Orgullo and put his hand on the bay gelding's neck to comfort him before moving to have a look at the injury. The wound was dripping blood and if the arrow was removed, Ezio was sure it the bleeding could be worse. A horse could not live with a wound like this and that was the heartbreaking part. The old warhorse did not deserve to be left to die after having been through several battles before so Ezio decided he had to do what was right.

Ezio did not like having to do it, but it had to be done. He removed the saddle and bridle from the old warhorse he had come to rely on so much before going to stand at the old horse's head. He rubbed the gelding's ears without saying anything, giving Orgullo one last ear scratch before it came to the end. There was never a good feeling when it came to putting a horse out of its misery. He had seen it done once or twice before, but it had never been _his _horse. Giving Orgullo one last sorrowful look, he took his dagger and held it to the gelding's throat.

"Grazie, mi amigo. For everything." Ezio said before cutting into the horse's flesh.

Not long after the horse fell to the ground lifeless, Ezio picked up his saddle and moved to where the grey horse stood grazing next to its old rider. The horse was loyal at least, but how would it accept another rider? He was sure he would find out after switching the saddle and riding it. From the looks of it, the horse was a mare. She would do well to carry him to Pistoia in a haste, if she did not test him as mares tended to do. Either way, he needed to move quickly because he was running out of time.

The assassin mounted the grey mare, giving her a pat on the neck before kicking her into an easy gallop which seemed much faster than Orgullo. She ate up the ground as though it were nothing more than air beneath her feet and she seemed pleased about it too. Her ears flicked back and forth listening to Ezio and then watching ahead as they went on to the road far away from the sight of the blockade. She was young and full of energy, but she was looking out for danger as she should. Ezio knew then that he would make it to Pistoia in good time.


	32. Fight or Flight

**I had the hardest time getting this one complete. I really did. Not going to lie. I struggled with writer's block even though I had an outline. Most of my problem was stress and anxiety over the events going on in my country. I'm going to keep politics out of it, but it is worrisome, and it does affect me as an American. Anyway, there are only two more chapters left and then I can move on to what I really want to write. Ya'll, I'm excited about this!**

**I hope everyone is doing okay in these troublesome times. I hope this is a distraction for everyone. **

She was getting bored with sitting around all day and night doing nothing. Sometimes it felt like there was a storm on the edge of the horizon, close enough to hear the thunder, but far enough just to know it was there. Contessina hated feeling at any moment a man could walk through the door or bust through the windows and kill each person within the room she was lounging in. She was bothered by it and felt helpless from it as well. The anxiety between her and Lucrezia could be seen when they both looked at one another occasionally with a forlorn expression on their faces. Clarice was still very much in the dark with this, but for good reason.

The Medici woman was so very close to giving birth that worrying her could do more harm than good at that point. Both Contessina and Lucrezia agreed that the subject was never to be brought up in front of Clarice or the children. For now, Contessina had to endure the suspense of an oncoming attack they may occur without warning. Of course, Lucrezia was doubly worried about Contessina's condition as she was still early in her pregnancy and this somewhat annoyed the blond.

The Sun had set hours ago and even though dinner had been uneventful, save for Giovanni throwing grapes at his brother because of something he said. Other than that, Contessina found herself sitting in the parlor with her feet up on a footrest and a book open in her lap. Of course, she had another half-eaten pear in her hand and at her side on the small table was a cheese board that Serafina had obliged her with. Clarice was unable to attend dinner that evening saying she was unwell, which was to be expected since her child was due any day. Contessina wondered if her pregnancy could give her as much trouble as Clarice's seemed to give her and the thought alone almost made her squeamish. Flipping the page of her book she heard footsteps come into the room and she turned her head to look at who it could be.

"You should be resting." Lucrezia said as she sat in the chair next to Contessina and began to read her own book.

"I'm too hungry to rest." The blond took a bite of her pear and put her book down in her lap to rub her hand on her growing bump. Not much longer and the whole world would know she was carrying a child without her even having to say a word. "Besides, I'm too nervous."

"I know. I am too, but that doesn't mean you cannot find rest when you should." The older woman gave her a comforting smile before turning back to her book. "I know half of your nervousness comes from not having your husband here with you." There was a knowing glance thrown in Contessina's direction and the young woman knew her aunt was very right.

"It's strange really." Contessina put the pear down next to the cheese on the table and sighed. "When I left Monteriggioni I almost thought he was angry with me and he probably was. When he gave me that one kiss before turning around for Firenze, I swear his anger had disappeared completely."

"That is because it did." The older woman leaned over with a very wise look on her features and she seemed to be giving Contessina more reason to have faith in Ezio. "You are new to marriage, but one thing to know is that men never stay angry with those they love for long. Women do. We stay angry for a long time and we like to see our men suffer for it." There was a sly smirk on Lucrezia's face. "Ezio loves you and he does show it openly."

"Let's hope he loves me enough when he learns he will be a father." She was still unsure of how he felt regarding children.

"I can see why you think this way. Ezio does not expect you to provide him with children for the sake of succession or having an heir so it does bother you, but you need not be afraid." Lucrezia was trying to reassure her. "He will love you no matter what and I even suspect he will love the child just as much." The words did nothing to comfort Contessina and she would not be satisfied until she saw Ezio's reaction herself.

"I hope so." Contessina said looking down at her hands before picking up the book in her lap and opening it to the page she left off on.

She was so involved with the book that she had not noticed when Lucrezia stood up and bid her goodnight before leaving the room. At some point she did not even know she was sleeping because she was dreaming about reading the book in her hands. It was not until she felt a hand on her shoulder when she realized she had fallen asleep in the chair and when she looked up to see who it was, she blinked. Serafina stood above her with a nervous look on her face and suddenly Contessina felt wide awake.

"Signora, there is a man in the stables asking for you." The maid removed her hand from Contessina's shoulder and backed away. "He says it's urgent that you go to him." Something did not feel right. Why would someone be asking for her in the dead hours of the night?

"Did he give you a name?" Contessina asked as she put her book on the table and stood from her chair carefully so she would not get dizzy. There was a pool of dread in her stomach and she could feel strange fluttering sensations in her belly.

"He said his name was Marcello, Signora." Contessina said nothing in return before walking out of the room as quick as she could leaving poor Serafina behind.

She flew through the kitchen and out of the servant's entrance through the small vegetable garden outside. Opening the gate that lead to the stables she stopped when she saw her husband's back turned towards her. He was loosening the girth on a grey mare she had never seen before as he spoke to Miguel. Contessina put a hand on her stomach feeling the strong flutters more than before and she could not help but to feel relief upon seeing Ezio before her. He must have known something was wrong or he may have gotten word that there was a spy watching the villa. Either way, she felt half of her worries dissipate. Miguel's eyes found their way to her and he cleared his throat to signal to Ezio that she was there.

"I'll go get the carriage ready." The Spaniard said leading the grey mare away from the assassin who turned to face his wife. The moment that he laid eyes on her form he noticed how she had her hand on her stomach, but when she noticed him looking she quickly dropped it to her side as if there had been nothing to see.

"Where are Clarice and the children?" Ezio asked her point blank trying to avoid the subject that was in the back of his mind. She looked nervous and shaking, but at the same time she seemed to want to shy away from him. "Contessina?" He went closer to her so he could touch her.

"Asleep." She nearly blurted out as he put a hand on her arm. Ezio gave her a soft look before nodding. "What are you doing here?"

"Riario's spies have been watching this place for months." He confirmed to her causing her heart to sink to the bottom of her stomach. Ezio noticed she put a hand on her abdomen again but ignored it after a moment knowing that Volpe's words were true. "He sent men out at first light yesterday morning." He watched as her eyes widened.

"So, they could be here right now?" Contessina looked around the stables nervously as Miguel was pulling horses out of there stalls to hitch the carriage. Ezio did not answer her, only pulled her closer to snap her out of looking for a threat.

"They are close behind me for sure, so we need to get you and your family out of here." He spoke urgently enough to make her heartbeat faster and also cause her to feel dizzy. She started breathing heavier, but after a moment of thinking she calmed a little. Clarice was in no condition to move as she could go into labor at any time.

"We can't leave, Ezio. Clarice cannot be moved because she will have a child at any time." Contessina said putting a hand on his. Ezio understood his wife's plight well enough or as much as he could since he did not completely understand pregnancy or childbirth, but he could try.

"I assume you have a plan already?" He asked her and she looked up at him with a small glint of hope in her eyes.

Contessina had woken Clarice and the children from their rest as Ezio made himself scarce. She led the heavily pregnant woman through the villa into the kitchen with the boys in tow and Lucrezia following closely behind them with a worried look on her face. The darkness in the building kept them from being seen by anyone and it was only when she reached the kitchen that Contessina lit a candle. She handed it to Lucrezia as Miguel seemed to appear out of the shadows to open the storeroom door and then open the trap door to the hidden room beneath.

"Where is Serafina?" Contessina asked the Spaniard and his wife appeared moments later with a bag of sweet breads for the children. "Now, remember do not let us out until Ezio gives the word." She told the groundskeeper who nodded as he held Clarice's hand as she went down the narrow steps. She stopped halfway giving out a moan in pain. "Clarice?" The blond looked down at her cousin who seemed to be very uncomfortable in that moment.

"It's nothing. Just a cramp." The woman tried pushing it off however Contessina and Lucrezia knew that 'just a cramp' really meant something else. The Medici woman was about to make another step when she doubled over in pain.

"Mama!" Giovanni's voice cried out seeing his mother in pain and rushing to her side. The boy looked up at Contessina pleading for her to do something, however there was not much she could do other than help comfort Clarice as she labored.

"Of all the things in this world, Lorenzo's child has horrible timing." Lucrezia said before making her way down the steps to grab on to Clarice and help her down the rest of the way. "Contessina, towels and boiling water! Quickly!"

"No Madonna, I will see to it!" Serafina said before going to the fireplace in the kitchen and lighting it. Contessina could clearly see how everything became complicated very quickly and what was worse is that they were about to be under attack.

Outside everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the croaking of frogs from the pond near the villa, but other than that there was nothing. The smell of rain was in the air which would explain the dense humidity that had been building all day. With the rain and the darkness, it would be very hard to see anyone coming from the woods surrounding the villa, but Ezio could rely on his gift to help with this. He stood on the roof watching and waiting for something to catch his eye in the darkness. He even hoped the weather would be enough to spoil plans of the men sent to kill his wife and her family.

Ezio watched the tree line closely on all sides looking for any sign of movement, however with the night growing darker it became difficult. A drop of water landed on his hand making him look up at the sky before a second drop found its way below his right eye. Being wet never bothered Ezio, what did bother him was the buildup of electricity in the air that normally came with lightning. It took twenty seconds for him to realize that he should get off the roof before a bright stroke of natural power illuminated the night followed by the loud clap of thunder. The bolt of lightning hit a tree in the far distance, but it gave Ezio a split second to see what he was looking for.

Seven men seemed to appear out of the shadows like phantoms just as the rain fell from the sky. They were sneaking slowly towards the bottom floor of the villa with every intention of not being seen by the occupants. Ezio's eyes followed the figured bathed in red aura as they crept closer to the building he was on before he made the decision to slide down the incline. As soon as he hit the gutters, he grabbed hold of the edge and swung down onto the veranda on the second floor. When he landed, he crouched down to make himself as invisible as possible while keeping an eye on the men below. There was a chance that the men would quietly sneak into the villa and try to take everyone by surprise or even silence their sleeping targets.

Ezio stealthily moved to the wooden doors that led from the balcony into the house where he knew he could use the shadows more affectively. The doors were locked, but that had never been a problem before considering locks were easily picked with a pin he kept on his belt. With a satisfying click the doors unlocked after a little manipulation on his part and then he opened the doors going into the darkness of the villa.

The sounds of Clarice's labored breathing were kept as quiet as possible while Contessina stood at the top of the steps leading down into the room beneath. The sound of the fire crackling in the kitchen provided a little comfort to her while Miguel leaned up against the doorway to the storeroom with his arms crossed. Despite the anticipation of an attack, the atmosphere in the kitchen was rather calm compared to the stormy weather outside. With every flash of lightning, Contessina could feel the oncoming chaos building up elsewhere and she hoped that Ezio could dispatch the attackers quickly if they even appeared.

"Breathe." Lucrezia was trying desperately to keep Clarice from making too much noise. "That's it." The blond turned her attention to her cousin who was biting her bottom lip in order to keep from crying out as a pain came on. "At this rate, the child will be here by morning." Lucrezia said looking up at Contessina.

"How long does it normally take?" Contessina said as she sat down on the top step while the two women down in the room sat on a blanket that had been placed on the stone floor.

"At least a few hours. That is if there are no complications, then it can take longer." The older woman moved to rub Clarice's back as she moaned out in relief as her contraction eased.

"I need my rosary." The pregnant woman said leaning back against her mother-in-law with her eyes closed. "I need to pray." She said as the older woman took a towel to pat the sweat off of her forehead. "Get my prayer beads." It was more of a demand than a request and Contessina looked to the kitchen door. She did not think twice before moving to the door and walking out of it with Lucrezia yelling after her to stop.

The entire hallway was dark to the point where she could not see her hand in front of her face. Flashes of lightning allowed her to see the objects lining the walls for a brief moment before the world around her went into darkness again. Clarice's room was at the other end of the villa from where she was and to get to it, she had to go through the dining room, parlor, foyer, and the den. At least the doorways were all in line, so it looked as though there was one long corridor through the villa. Contessina held her breath before moving forward through the dining room, groping the air to feel for the table and chairs that were in the center. The moment she came in contact with something solid she almost gasped then realized it was the big chair at the end of the table.

Letting out a breath she continued through the room slowly until she entered the next room which thankfully had a sconce on the wall with a lit candle. Contessina could barely make out the shape of the fireplace and the dim embers that glowed within the firebox. The room was quiet enough to where she could hear her own heartbeat thumping hard in her chest as she thought of what to do next. The sound of a footstep in the other room caused her to freeze where she stood and search around in the parlor she was in for a hiding place. Whatever she did, she had to be quick about it, as it appeared someone was in the next room. Her eyes scanned the dark room for someplace to obscure herself from view, however there was no place to break line of sight except for the other side of the fireplace. The corner was just dark enough to hide her in plain view while managing to break the line.

She quietly tip toed to the corner as fast as she could before tucking herself into the darkness of the room. The more she tried to make herself fit in the corner, the more uncomfortable she became when she felt something poking her in the back just above her hip. The footsteps had moved into the same room with her, causing her to peek around the mantle of the fireplace enough to see a tall black figure. He was obviously looking for either her or the family that was behind the kitchen door and if he made his way into the next room there was no doubt, he would discover them.

Contessina knew she had to do something. Anything to draw his attention away from Clarice and her children. She felt behind her for whatever was poking her in the back and she suddenly had an idea when her fingers found the wrought iron handle of a poker. She carefully reached down to remove one of her slippers before throwing it in the opposite corner from her. The blond watched as the man swung around to the sound of the slipper hitting the floor and then she carefully grabbed the iron poker from its place. The man strode over to where the sound came from and bent down to inspect the slipper with his back facing to Contessina.

Taking a deep breath, she quietly moved away from her hiding spot with the poker held upright in her hands. The hook used to grab burning wood looked lethal enough to do some damage and she could get away from him easily if she swung hard enough. Her heart was beating wildly as she snuck up behind the man who had begun to stand upright. It was now or never, and she had to make the swing. If she did not, she was caught. Taking a deep breath, she swung the metal rod as hard as she could.

There was a sickening crack as the hook on the poker landed right above the man's ear. There was no doubt in Contessina's mind that the poker had done its job, but the wobbling man seemed to disagree. He immediately put his hand up to his head and pulled it away to inspect for blood, which coated his palm. Contessina could see the wet shine in the dim light from the candle as the man turned around to question her with his eyes. She did not care for the look he gave her and bit her bottom lip before glaring at him, and then she hit him again, this time on the opposite side of his head right on his temple. This time though, the hook of the poker hit hard enough to pierce through the man's skull enough for it to become stuck for a moment before Contessina jerked it out.

She watched as the man fell to the floor in a heap which created enough noise to possibly draw attention to her location. If there were other assassins besides her husband and the man at her feet, they were surely going to investigate the noise. The young woman did not want to stick around to find out, so she pulled her other slipper off and left it there with the dead man before making her way to the next room. If she had to defend herself again, she at least had a poker to act as a weapon. The iron stick was no sword, but it would have to do.

Just as she went through the doorway to the next room, she tripped over something sending her down on her hands and knees. The poker in her hand fell to the stone floor, making a loud clang as her eyes widened. The sound of boots stepping beside her made her start to panic a little and her stomach tightened as another pair of boots came up from the other side. She closed her eyes putting a hand on her belly as it tightened causing a little discomfort and she began to fear the worst as hands wrapped around her upper arm. She was pulled up from the floor without any gentleness before the feeling of cold steel was pressed to her throat.

"Signora." The man holding her had a familiar voice while the one that stood beside him moved to stand in front of her. "If you would be so kind to give me the location of the Medici women and children." He asked her as lightning lit up the room for a moment. From what she could see, they were both dressed in travelers' cloaks and wore hoods to cover their faces. The man behind her put his other arm right below her breasts to keep her close which made her start shaking in fear. She was terrified that they were going to hurt her, or even worse, hurt her child. She had to think of something.

"They left for Pisa this morning." She managed to whimper out. "They are going to Genoa." Tears started to pool in the corner of her eyes.

"Somehow, I don't believe you, Signora." He pressed the blade to her skin enough to draw a little blood. "You arrived with Lucrezia de' Medici. Who are you to her?" She winced as the blade cut a little deeper.

"I am just a friend to her daughter, Bianca." Contessina gritted out after feeling the sting of the cut on her neck. Her hands reached up to grab the man's forearm as lightning struck again. "My husband is a banker in Firenze, and he sent me with Lucrezia to stay out of harm's way."

"I still do not believe you." He said before another flash of light revealed the gaping expression on the man in front of her and the familiar white cowl she had come to love. It was clear that the man holding her had not seen Ezio in the light, but it was clear he heard the other man's body drop to the ground. "What devilry is this?" Contessina felt the knife move away from her neck as the man became defensive.

"Let me go!" She said before elbowing him in the gut as hard as she could making him grunt as the sound of footsteps came up behind them. She managed to get out of his grasp before the sound of bones and sinew twisting could be heard in the darkness. In another flash of light, she saw her husband standing there with the man falling at his feet. She would never forget the fierce look in Ezio's eyes that moment before he disappeared into the darkness again.


	33. Home

**Okay one more chapter to go! I know this one may seem to move at a faster pace, but that is because I am ready to move on to the next story. I can no longer move the plot around on this one and frankly, it needs to be tied up. The next chapter is the last one and after that I start with the next book which will bring us to Venice. There will be a lot more struggles in the next story as this one was about the formation of love and how naïve two people can be about marriage. The next story deals with the absolute truths of marriage and the reality of making a marriage work. So, there will be a lot of serious subject matter. I am also opening up questions about the story in general to be answered at a later date.**

**Ask me anything about the story! **

**To Cranetreena: Thank you for your review! **

Ezio had avoided his wife the rest of the night and into the morning after seeing her blue outline in the grasp of an equally bright red enemy. The anger that he felt upon seeing what he saw and hearing her shaking voice plead with the man who held her was indescribable. He could only feel a white-hot rage burn within him to the point he did not really know if he was in control of his actions then. Of course, he was going to kill the poor _stronzo_ anyway, but he had planned to do it the more traditional way. Ezio almost enjoyed feeling the man's neck snap and the other part of him did not care. It had become more or less normal for him to take a life at this point.

As the sun rose over the horizon, he was lucky enough to catch the cries of a newborn child, which soothed his anger a little. The gratification that he had saved the lives of Lorenzo's family, but his own as well made him realize that he could not stay angry. With that realization came another, he had inadvertently saved the life of his own unborn son or daughter. Ezio had not really thought about it since leaving Firenze, as a matter of fact, he avoided it completely. Not because he did not like the idea of having a child, he had thought about it before, but it was a distraction. He needed to focus in order to do what needed to be done, but the thought was in the very back of his mind.

He needed to speak with his wife, wherever she may be in that moment. He had gone to her room up on the second floor and found it empty with only the door to the balcony open. She was likely sitting out there as she normally did in the mornings. The assassin knew his wife well enough to know her routines no matter where she lived, so he removed his weapons and robes before making his way out on to the balcony.

Contessina was sitting on the bench with a bowl of water and what smelled like witch hazel on the small table next to her. Ezio watched her as she dabbed a wet cloth on the cut that was left from the encounter, she had with the men he killed. Guilt rose up from the pit of his stomach as he realized he should not be angry with her because she was doing what she thought was right. Lucrezia had explained the situation to him after the fact, but it still did nothing to dampen the anger he felt. It was only at that moment he realized he was angry because this was the second time, she had put herself in harm's way.

She hissed when she pressed the cloth on her neck finding a delicate spot that was a little deeper than the rest. The sound caused him to step forward which drew her attention to him. Contessina gave him a pained expression as she removed the wet towel and set it back in the bowl. He may have been disappointed with her actions, but he had every reason to be even though she had no idea he knew about their child. Ezio sighed before moving to sit next to her on the bench and then putting his finger under her chin so he could see the full extent of the damage done. Contessina tensed up when he put a finger on the edge of the cut to see how deep it actually was.

"How bad is it?" She asked him not knowing the real damage done. She had done her best to clean it, however she could not see it. He said nothing when he reached for the wet cloth and wrung it out before applying it to the cut. She hissed again when he rubbed the dried blood off of the edges of her sore flesh but stayed still. "I don't like that you aren't saying anything." She told him and he stopped before giving her a hard look.

"I'm trying not to say something I may regret later." Ezio said after a moment of silence upon realizing he was at least a little angry over the situation. Riario's assassin could have slit her throat right in front of him if he had not been close by. Not only that, but he had not known that she had been injured.

"You are angry with me." Contessina said as she started to pick at the material of her dressing gown. "I suppose I deserve that anger for rushing into danger again." Her voice was timid, as though she were expecting him to berate her for her careless mistake, only he did not have the heart to do so. He wanted to, but he could never stay angry with her. "Ezio, I know I put myself in danger again. I know I could have been killed and that I am lucky that it didn't happen, but I could not stand around and do nothing."

"And you thought a rosary was more important than your life and the life of our child?" He realized he had just admitted he knew, but he was also putting it out there for her to realize. Ezio watched as she moved away from him with a shocked look on her face.

"You knew?" Her brows creased in confusion and the young man sighed before placing the cloth back in the water. Ezio looked out over the gardens with his hands falling into his lap while he tried to figure out how he felt in that moment. "How could you know?"

"Riario had spies watching you the whole time." Ezio looked back over to her with a defeated gaze at the prospect of taking what should have been a joyful moment for the both of them and turning it into something else entirely. "They knew you were with child the moment you showed signs and the news found its way to him."

"How did you find out?" She looked down at her hands before putting them on her slightly rounded stomach and that was the moment it became a little more real for Ezio. He reached over and grabbed one of her hands.

"Volpe had a spy in Riario's camp who overheard everything." He locked eyes with her. "They were going to kill you as well." Contessina blinked and then looked away in shame as if she realized that she had needlessly told her captors that the family had left the villa for Genoa. They knew the family was there and she was part of it. "Contessina?" He squeezed her hand as she started to cry. She kept rubbing her stomach with her other hand as if she were trying to comfort the child.

"I'm so stupid." Contessina's tears glistened in the light as she looked out over the garden. Ezio watched as her hand went up to her mouth so she could stifle her cries, but it did not help her case at all. He pulled her over to him setting her in his lap and held her close as she leaned her head on his shoulder. He cradled her the best he could as her feet rested on the seat of the bench.

"You are not stupid." Ezio kissed her forehead. "You are brave, compassionate, and reckless, but you are not stupid." He hesitated for a moment before putting his hand on her rounded abdomen. "I hope that our children inherit that from you." She put her hand over his and smiled through her tears.

"I hope they inherit your stubborn nature to go along with that." She said leaning to kiss him on the cheek. "And your strength." And then on the mouth before pulling away. "And everything I love about you."

"Even the things you don't like?" He smiled back at her before putting his forehead on hers and wrapping his other hand in her long blond hair.

"Even the things I don't like." She told him before he kissed her. All the anger he had disappeared the moment he laid eyes on her, but there was the residual disappointment that was slowly ebbing away with each kiss. "Ezio?"

"Si, Amore?" He moved his head away from hers to give her a questioning look. He was certain he knew what she was going to ask him next.

"Do I still need to write a letter for you to come and get me?" She said with a smirk and he chuckled in response not expecting the question. He put his forehead back on hers before kissing her again.

"We can leave tonight if you wish." He told her as they sat on the bench. "Can you ride in your condition?" He asked her in concern not knowing if a pregnant woman could withstand the ride back to Monteriggioni.

"To be honest, I would rather ride a horse than ride in a wagon or a carriage." Contessina said rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand that was still placed over the spot where their child laid. "The roads are terrible."

"I will have to find you a horse that is gentle enough for the journey back." Ezio thought about the grey mare he rode in on and the fact that he had lost Orgullo. The grey mare was gentle enough in temper, but she was also flighty and not ideal for a woman in delicate condition. He knew Contessina could handle any horse she rode, but he wanted her to be comfortable.

"Miguel knows a man who brokers horses." She mumbled into his neck. "Ask him to find a nice horse for me to ride to Firenze." At this point Ezio was fully aware of his exhaustion and hers as well. He did not feel like moving from the spot they were in or even trying to stand up with her in his arms. He felt like if he did, he would fall back down on the bench.

"Alright." Ezio mumbled out as his eyes closed and his head started to lean back against the wall. Within a few moments he was sleeping soundly and Contessina was not far behind.

Contessina stood in the stables waiting for Miguel to saddle the horse that came recommended for her by the broker. It was a mare of golden color that she had never seen before with a cream-colored mane and tail. On her forehead was a star and a snip on her muzzle that reminded Contessina of the sunrise. On her back legs was two white stockings, making the mare look as lady-like as possible for an equine. She looked fairly gentle and laid back, which was perfect for Contessina's needs. The mare was also at a decent height, probably as big as the bay gelding in Firenze.

"Tito said she is a Spanish bred horse; an Andalusian is what they call them." The moment he said Spanish, Contessina's mind went to the old bay gelding, Orgullo. The fine horse that Ezio rode everywhere and to see him sitting on the gray mare was different. She wondered where the gelding was and why he was not there with his master. Contessina turned to where her husband was as he sat on the gray waiting for Miguel to finish saddling the other horse. "They call her color palomino, Signora. My father had a horse like her once." Miguel said patting the mare as he led her out of the stall. "The color of the sun."

"She is beautiful." Contessina said as the Spaniard grabbed the mare's reins. "I shall have to think of a name for her later. If my husband lets me keep her." She looked back at Ezio with a smile. The assassins seemed to be more interested in looking at a letter that he had discovered on one of Riario's men. She cleared her throat loudly to catch his attention and he snapped his gaze to her.

"Mi Dispace, Amore, what was that?" Ezio said folding up the letter and putting it in one of his saddle bags for safe keeping. She gave him a half glare before moving to the left side of the horse.

"It's nothing, I was just wondering where you were." She said before putting her foot in the stirrup and pulling herself up onto the palomino who stood perfectly still. Contessina fixed her green riding dress the best she could finding it getting a little harder to hide her pregnancy with that particular dress. She had to admit that finding a comfortable position was harder than last time. "You were somewhere in the clouds I suppose."

"No, I was reading something." Ezio kicked his mare closer to the door of the stables. "You should call her Alba." He told her as he walked past her and out the door. Contessina smiled as she followed him into the night air.

"So, you are letting me keep her?" She looked back at Miguel who was smirking and then waved goodbye to her. She smiled before pushing the polite mare up into a small trot. Alba was a good name for a horse of golden color.

"I hope so, I paid a good price for her." The assassin turned around in his saddle and gave her a grin. If Contessina ever doubted he loved her before, she had little reason to now. She patted the mare's neck as she trotted up to the gray mare. "She fits you."

"I love her already." Contessina gave the mare another pat on the neck and then asked what had been on her mind for a little while. "Where is Orgullo? Is he in Firenze?" The silence on Ezio's part told her everything she needed to know. The bay gelding that loved to have his ears rubbed and scratched was no more and her husband mourned the warhorse. "I'm sorry." She said looking down at the reins in her hands.

"There is nothing to be sorry for." The tone of Ezio's voice held indifference, but his body language said something else. He missed the old horse, but he was not going to let it deter him from the present where he needed to make sure they arrived in Monteriggioni without injury. "There will be plenty of horses in our lifetime to love and let go, he was the first of many that I will not forget." The blonde's heart ached at the thought of losing something she loved, again. She believed that losing Orgullo was the equivalent of Ezio losing a dear friend and that made her tear up.

She remained quiet for a while and at one point stopped telling Alba what to do when the horse had steadily followed the gray mare. The ride was going to be much slower than what Ezio was probably accustomed too, but he did not seem to mind. Instead of a day and a half to get from Pistoia to Firenze, it was going to take at least two. Contessina had a feeling that Ezio knew a way to avoid any trouble getting into the city and when they reached the first barricade, she was correct. He pulled her into the forest that lined the Arno to keep the both of them out of sight. They were lucky enough that they arrived a little past midnight.

He put a finger to his lips and dismounted his horse before telling her to do so. Following his instructions, they walked the horses past the blockade and then walked for another mile before coming to the river gate that he had left out of going to Pistoia. The gate was much harder to open from the outside than it was on the inside, but he managed to do it enough to let the horses through. Contessina pulled her mare in and moved out of the way so that Ezio could close the gate without any trouble.

"Where are we going now?" Contessina whispered to Ezio who mounted his horse and motioned for her to do the same.

"Leonardo's." He told her as he watched her struggle in exhaustion to get up on the golden mare. He could tell that Contessina was uncomfortable and by the way she kept putting her hand on her belly, he knew there was something going on in there. "We can rest there for the night."

"At least until morning." She said making it clear she did not want to be in Firenze any longer than needed and Ezio nodded his head in understanding.

When they made it to Leonardo's workshop, they lead the horses into the courtyard to the side where a wagon full of hay sat for them and of course. The two mares squealed at each other for a moment before deciding that Alba was the one in charge. Ezio rolled his eyes as Contessina grabbed on to his arm and dragged him to the door. She gave the door three brisk knocks before the door opened to reveal a slightly surprised artist who had obviously not gone to bed yet. Leonardo looked at the two exhausted people on his doorstep for a moment trying to figure out if he was seeing things or not. The artist shook his head to clear his mind before moving out of the way to let the couple in.

"Forgive me, my friends. I was not expecting the both of you." Leonardo said putting his hands together and then motioning to the table where wine sat in a pitcher. "Wine?" Ezio and Contessina looked at each other for a moment before nodding. "Right...uh, give me a moment to find another glass." Contessina watched as her friend moved to another table and shifted through the mess on top to find another glass.

As Leonardo shuffled around to find a clean glass, the blond began to remove her cloak before her husband jumped in to help her. Contessina looked at him with gratitude as Leonardo approached them with a clean glass for her. She took it in her hand and allowed the artist to pour a little wine having not noticed how her dress did not hide her current condition. Of course, she was sure that Leonardo would notice eventually, but not when he was in a state of blissful ignorance to their situation.

"So, what brings you here?" Leonardo asked as he set the wine pitcher down on the small table next to the two chairs, he and Ezio usually sat in by the fireplace. Contessina found her way over to the couch beside the chair where her husband rested in.

"I am taking Contessina back to Monteriggioni." Ezio took a sip of wine before handing Contessina her cloak so she could lay down. "But we needed a place to rest for the rest of the night." The artist eyed the blond woman on the couch finally noticing something off with her.

"You need not ask, Ezio, you are both welcome here any time." Leonardo smiled wide having picked up on Contessina's secret. "I supposed it is dangerous on the road right now, especially since Contessina is in a delicate condition." Ezio almost spit out the wine he was drinking and Contessina giggled in response as the assassin tried hard not to inhale the wine.

"Did Volpe tell you?" Ezio glared at his friend who simply waved it off with a happy look on his face. The younger man coughed as he struggled to gain his composer.

"No, I noticed when I was pouring the wine." If Contessina did not know any better, she would say her artist friend was beyond joyful about this news. "I notice these things because it interests me." Of course, it interested Leonardo, he was keen on the human body in the first place and Contessina knew he was intrigued by the growth of new life. "I am happy for the both of you." He raised up his own glass. "To new life."

"To new life." Ezio and Contessina said in unison before looking at each other. They only had a few hours to rest before they had to leave again, but at least they were able to rest. If they were lucky, Monteriggioni's gates would be in sight by late afternoon the next day.

The pale light of day had barely made itself known when Ezio dragged his wife through the east river gate. She was exhausted by this point and he knew that if he continued to let her ride her mare, she would likely fall off. Instead of riding the gray mare, he pulled himself up on Alba and then pulled Contessina up to sit in front of him. With his arms wrapped around her, he tied the gray mare's reins to the saddle, and they walked along the banks of the river as far from the road as possible. They rode east for a few miles until they crossed the bridge going south to Siena which lead directly past Monteriggioni. By this point Contessina had fallen asleep and so the pace was slower than Ezio liked, but the blond needed the rest.

"Where are we?" Contessina's voice pulled Ezio from his thoughts as they came to the small village of Bargino. She lifted her sleepy head from his shoulder allowing him to loosen his tight muscles.

"Bargino." They had only been riding for five hours at least, but the summer sun was not going easy on them at all. "How are you feeling?" He looked down at her and took a moment to put a hand on her stomach.

"Better." She smiled at him before he went back to making sure the gray mare was not picking on Alba again. Every now and then he would see the palomino's ears pin back as the gray mare attempted to test her. Ezio was sure the palomino would kick his horse, but she never did. "Can I have my horse back?" He did not hesitate to stop the mare they rode on and dismount allowing Contessina to take control of her horse while he mounted his.

Contessina had never been so relieved when they had picked up the pace enough to get them within sight of the towers of Monteriggioni. Despite the uncomfortable position she was in, Alba was a smooth horse that carried her with the upmost care. When the blond saw the towers of her home, the mare seemed to be just as excited to see them too. Ezio almost had to keep up with Contessina only because his own horse was not as keen to be running. However, when Contessina rode through the gates, the villagers seemed to be in a state of disbelief upon seeing her. It was as though she had never left.

The blond could barely contain herself when she saw Carlotta running down the steps with Claudia close behind her. Contessina slipped off of her horse and ran to embrace the two women she had missed over the time she was gone while Ezio rode up with a less than enthusiastic welcome. The sound of Fiona's yells as she ran up to Contessina from the crowd that had gathered around the blond had done more than ease her heart. Fiona grabbed Contessina around her hips and hugged her tight. Ezio watched with a content smile on his face as the village came to greet their mistress as she become known as.

"So, tell me Nipote, how does it feel knowing you have a child on the way?" Mario asked as he sat on the railing near the training ring later that night. Ezio could not deny that he was terrified and happy at the same time, but there were also some complications.

"The timing could be better." Ezio took a sip from the bottle of wine he had stolen from the rack in the kitchen, not without a verbal warning from the kitchen maid. "It has me thinking about how my father dealt with being an assassin and a father." The thoughts had been crossing his mind all day.

"Giovanni did what he could, I suppose." Mario said as he leaned up against the railing. "He thought by keeping his heritage a secret he could spare you and your siblings from the dangers of being an assassin." Ezio handed him the bottle before he continued. "I never had the opportunity to raise children, so I cannot say the same, but I suspect I'd have the same reaction."

"I do not want any of my children to go through the pain of losing their family." It was probably wishful thinking on his part, but Ezio knew it was going to happen anyway. At some point he was going to die and leave them behind, but it was better than having be bury a child. He was sure Contessina had the same fears, only she had not voiced them yet. "My father did what he thought was right and I suppose I have to do the same."

"That is all you can do as a father." Mario put a hand on his nephew's shoulder in comfort. "I know you will be a good father, Nipote, because you have learned from us." Ezio did not know whether to be afraid or thankful of that thought.

"Grazie, Uncle. I know I can always count on you for advice." He smiled before reaching out to take the wine bottle back from Mario who smiled in appreciation.

"Anytime, Nipote." The jovial man said looking out at the quiet village. "I can just imagine things being a lot different here in a few months."

"How many feasts are you planning, Uncle?" Ezio took a sip of wine and then chuckled at the somewhat innocent look on Mario's face.

"One for the announcement, another for each month until the child is born, and one for when the child is born." Mario said with a sparkle in his eyes as he jested with his nephew. "I'm only jesting. Just the one after the child is born."

"Good." The younger man said hopping off of the railing and walking up the steps to the villa. "Good night, Uncle."

"Good night, Nipote."


	34. Auditore

**This is it! This is the end (for this story anyway). Like it or hate it, this is the Fellowship of the Ring of the trilogy. The next part is like the Empire Strikes Back (hopefully I can live up to greatness). **

**I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for reading this story. It gave me an outlet for my anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis and I hope that you all found the same escape. Now, on to the next story (to be uploaded in the next two weeks or sooner). **

**I love you guys! **

There were only so many things Contessina could stand during her last few months of pregnancy. A good book was one of them, but everyone fussing over her was not. She became frustrated over not having the ability to move around like she could when she was not carrying a child. She could no longer bend over without having to hold on to something because she felt as though she would topple over. The aches and pains that came with her growing belly did not help her mood either. At some point she had yelled at Claudia for no reason and then cried shortly after out of guilt. The young Auditore woman took no offense to her sister's emotional outburst, but it became apparent that Contessina was absolutely hating being pregnant.

The first few months had been fine with the nausea and occasional dizzy spells, but once she could feel the child moving around well enough, her troubles started. Some nights were unbearable because of the odd feeling of the baby moving within her and sometimes kicking her organs around. She had told herself that this was something she should be enjoying, yet that was the furthest from the case. She had taken to sleeping most of the day when the child was less active, which she had blamed Ezio for several times. The real point was, Contessina wanted the little creature out of her.

The women from the village did not care about how Contessina felt during her pregnancy, they only wanted to be able to be in the room with her when she gave birth. This was, as she was told, custom in most close-knit villages. The idea was uncomfortable to even think about. She honestly did not know how the ladies in the village could stand such a thing, but perhaps she was only accustomed to the women of the family. The women kept coming and showering her with gifts of pastries or bits of fabric to earn that ticket in, well, she kindly accepted the gifts and sent them on their way with a smile.

Carlotta was the only one outside of her family that she wanted in there with her when the time came. Maria and Claudia agreed to this, while Lucia was more than happy to have a small crowd to make things easier for her and the assistant to work in. Too many people and one would think royalty lived there. As it was, Contessina was only a Medici bride and her husband is a banker's son who is also an assassin. There was no royalty there, at least not in the grand scheme of things. It also did not help that Ezio seemed to be leaving every other day for a lead on one of the Pazzi conspirators. He wanted to find one of them at least.

As February roared its way in with a heavy windstorm in the middle of the night, she laid awake wrapped in her husband's arms and watched the fire burn. Her child had gone quiet days ago, which did give her a spike of fear, but Lucia told her it was because the baby was getting closer. Her belly was so big she could not see her feet when she stood up, nor could she see anything else below the waist. Sometimes, she forgot what her feet looked like, to which Ezio joked that they were ugly and covered in warts. For now, though, she counted the days before her child entered the world.

"What are you thinking about?" Ezio's voice mumbled in her hair as he pushed his face into the back of her head. He had on hand on her stomach and the other on her forearm, which was very comfortable for her.

"How miserable I am." If there was one thing she knew he thoroughly enjoyed about her in this state was the way her body changed. He had remarked on how he had seen his mother go through pregnancy twice, but somehow this was completely different for him. "I love our child, Ezio, but I cannot take any more of this...pampering and fuss." She moved to lay on her back so she could look him in the eyes. "Or the lack of involvement." She tried sitting up but found it difficult to do so and gave up after trying. "You know I could sit up in bed no problem before I became a whale?"

"Contessina." He gave her a warning as he moved his arm out from underneath her to prop his head up so he could look down on her. "You are not a whale." He had never seen one in person, but he knew the stories from the merchants who had gone to sea and had seen the magnificent creatures. "I promise it won't be much longer." He was not sure if he could actually promise that, but he wanted to make her feel like it meant something. "He can't stay in there forever."

"He?" Contessina's eyebrows creased at the thought of her child's unknown gender. "I never really thought about what it will be. My mother always said if a woman looked at a man for too long that a child will be born a boy." Ezio seemed to understand what she was trying to convey.

"You look at me all the time." He told her wrapping a strand of hair around one of his fingers. He was content with the world at that moment even though there was a lot that weighed on his mind.

"No, my love, I stare at you all the time." She reached up and patted his cheek before turning herself back on her side to face the fire. "Go back to sleep." Ezio was not sure how to respond to her comment, so he sighed and resumed his previous position of holding her close. "Do you think it will always be like this?" She asked him.

"Ask me again twenty years from now and I'll give you a good answer." Ezio said after a moment before kissing her cheek.

There were a lot of thoughts running through Contessina's mind, besides the images of her life in the future. Glimpses of happy smiles and childish laughter from her hypothetical children as they played in the garden. She supposed she could withstand a few more pregnancies for the sake of those smiles, however she had to get through the first one and that was what really terrified her. She squeezed her husband's hand to see if he was still awake.

"What is it?" He knew her well enough to notice something dangerous was on her mind. "Contessina?" Ezio propped himself up again to look down at her.

"It's nothing." She said keeping her thoughts to herself. Contessina hoped Ezio did not have to make the choice to save either her or the infant because she did not know if he could bear having to make that decision. He was a strong-willed man, but even he had a breaking point that was unknown to the both of them. He did not question her further before going back to sleep.

The middle of February brought the last of the cold days and nights to Toscana with the promise of spring. The air was still chilly when Contessina walked out of the villa and into the garden after a night of sleeplessness. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but the twinging pain in her back would not let her relax enough to do so. Instead of staying still, she found walking helped to ease the pain and of course she told no one about it. Strolling through the garden with a hand on her lower back, Contessina was pleased to see Fiona tending to the garden with a happy tune coming from her small figure.

The blond could not help but to watch for a moment while the little girl merrily plucked up the dead weeds that had taken over the garden while Contessina had been unable to tend to it herself. The little girl had left Nannia's home every day to visit the villa where she sat with the blond who started to teach her things like math and literature. Contessina felt that if given a chance, Fiona could use that education to find a good match when she was old enough to marry. Then perhaps the girl could be free of the retched woman who practically enslaved her. The dark-haired girl smiled wide when she saw Contessina and ran over to the woman who was just as happy to see her. In Fiona's hands were the first buds from the tiny roses she had planted last year before going to Pistoia.

"What do you have, Fiona?" Contessina said taking the small flowers from the girl's hands and bringing them up to her nose to smell their fragrance. The sweet smell that the yellow roses gave off was enough to calm the blonde's anxieties for a moment and allowed her to smile in appreciation. "These are beautiful."

"Grazie!" The little girl jumped up and down in excitement. "The other ones have not bloomed yet." She said settling down before Contessina held out a hand for her to take. "No _bambina _yet?" Fiona made it clear when she found out Contessina was pregnant that she wanted the child to be a girl.

"No, not yet, but soon." The woman said as the little girl took her hand and they began to walk through the garden. "So, what are we going to go over today?" Fiona's current fascination was over the little statuettes in the garden that represented the Greco Roman Gods.

"Minerva and Vulcan." Fiona said looking up at Contessina with a smile on her face. Contessina could barely smile when her back gave another spasm, but she was able to push through it anyway.

"Minerva is equivalent to?" The blond asked.

"Athena!"

"_Bene." _Contessina went on to list all the gods which Fiona answered each question with vigor. They rounded the corner going to the front of the villa where the sounds of mercenaries training could be heard. "Now, to math." There was not enough time to say anything else when Nannia's figure could be seen coming up the steps. The look on Nannia's face went from searching to complete anger when she notices Contessina holding Fiona's hand. "What do you want?" A protective feeling came over the blond as the older woman strode up to her and wrenched Fiona's hand away from her.

"What are you filling her head with this time, Witch?" Nannia's words no longer had an impact on Contessina, but that did not stop the woman from letting her tongue loose. "More of your devilish talk I suspect." Nannia spat before looking down at the girl. "I told you never to come here again, brat." The grip the older woman had on Fiona's wrist tightened causing the little girl to scrunch her face in pain and this made Contessina angry.

"Stop it! You're hurting her!" Contessina reached for Fiona, but Nannia pulled the girl away with a swift jerk causing her to yelp. "Let her go!" The blond yelled out enough to catch someone else's attention from the training grounds. Luckily, it was Mario and following him was Ezio with a very angry look on his face. Contessina could barely make eye contact with her husband when a different pain seized her for a moment. "Nannia, you are hurting her." She said putting a hand on her stomach as the pain seemed to intensify.

"I can hurt her if I wish to, she is mine to care for, is she not?" The woman had caused too much trouble for Contessina in the past and now she was taking it to another level by bringing her hatred on a little girl. "I could sell her to the whores if I wanted too. Just like her sister."

"Why? Why would you sell her into a life like that?" Contessina said in slight pain and she had taken to hiding it as much as she could in that moment.

"If you want to sell her, Nannia, then I will pay the price." Mario spoke up after witnessing the treatment Nannia had been suspected of for months now. Ever since Contessina lived in Monteriggioni, the old woman had made it her mission to hurt the blond in every way and she had used Fiona to do so. "Either that, or you can leave Monteriggioni." Mario had the authority to remove anyone who caused discord from his village, and Nannia was on his short list. "Your choice." The old woman looked at Mario with a shocked expression on her face at the options she was given, and her grip loosened on Fiona's wrist.

"You invited the witch in, and she cast her spell over you." Nannia pointed at Contessina. "You are all her playthings and she will doom all of you!" Contessina could not take it anymore. She balled up her fist and strode forward with all she could muster with her pregnant belly before punching the old woman in the face.

"That's enough out of you!" The blond said grabbing her hand and then bending over in pain as a strong spasm came on. "Mio Dio." She almost fell over before Ezio ran over to catch her.

"Uncle!" The young man did not hesitate to pick his wife up as she found herself almost crying out in pain. Contessina got a good look at the damage she had done to Nannia's face as blood streamed from her nose and the astounded expression on her face was enough to satisfy the blond. "The midwife!"

"I'll go get Signora Lucia." Fiona spoke up as Mario started to berate Nannia for her behavior and Ezio nodded to the little girl. "I'll run as fast as I can!" The girl said before taking off towards the village despite what had just happened with her guardian. The matter of Fiona could be solved later, for now Ezio had more important things to tend to.

"It hurts." Contessina mumbled as she put her head into his shoulder with one arm around his neck and the other clutching her abdomen. He did not waste time in rushing her into the villa where Claudia had come out of her office to investigate the commotion.

"Ezio, what is going on?" She asked him upon seeing Contessina in his arms in obvious discomfort and then she knew that her brother's child was close. "I'll go get mother and Carlotta." Claudia said turning away in a hurry to fetch the two women. Ezio was not sure if he could speak at that moment because he was not sure if his words would come out properly. He looked calm on the outside, but like any new father, he was panicking on the inside. Ezio had brought Contessina up to their room and set her down so she could remove the dress she wore.

"Help me." She motioned to the laces on the back of her dress as she grabbed on to the bed post to support her as he worked to remove the dress. "I have never saw you so quiet before." She said taking a deep breath. Ezio cleared his throat to get rid of any nervousness in his voice before answering.

"I am not sure what to say on the situation other than 'I'm nervous' and I'm sure you feel the same way." He tried smiling to comfort her, but she gave him a sardonic look that almost made him feel awkward. Once the laces were undone, he helped her out of the dress and then watched as she began to pace with her hands on her lower back. "Do you need anything?" He was trying to be the helpful husband in the situation before Lucia arrived to remove him from the room.

"I need you." She said a few minutes later when she stopped walking and braced herself against the bed as a contraction seized her. "Right now." Ezio was about to spring into action when the door opened to reveal his mother right as Contessina moaned out a sound he had never heard from anyone before.

The pain was almost unbearable and when Maria came in the door, Contessina could not have been so happy to see the woman she called her mother. The Auditore woman lent her quiet support by rushing to the blonde's side and rubbing her back as she groaned from the pain. Carlotta was the next woman to come in the room while Ezio had taken to sitting in a chair feeling as useless as any man in the situation. The brunette woman came in with a bowl of water and a cloth to help wipe the sweat that Contessina had worked up in her labor.

"What is he doing in here?" Lucia's voice pulled Ezio from his meandering thoughts and then he realized he was going to have to leave the room. Of course, he knew this was something he would never be allowed to do, but Claudia was quick to inform him that he had no choice. "Out you go, Ser Ezio. You will get to come back in when all the work is over." Lucia said with a smile as she walked him out the door and patted him on the back as his uncle came to take him away from all the commotion.

Hours seemed to pass slowly for Contessina as the pain steadily grew worse for her to the point, she felt like she was being ripped apart. She had been laid in the bed with her head in Maria's lap as she tried resting in between contractions, but it was no use. The pain was too much for her and she yelled out with every spasm. Carlotta sat at the laboring woman's side holding her hand through each wave of pain and giving her encouraging words while Claudia worked to help Lucia as much as possible. The feeling Contessina felt during one contraction was strange as a burning sensation coursed through her.

"It's close now, Signora. Very close." Lucia said as another wave of pain coursed through the blond. "Breathe." The midwife held her hands over a bowl as her assistant poured wine over them to wash any contaminates from them.

"You can do this, Contessina." Carlotta smiled at her as she squeezed the blonde's hand in reassurance while Maria grabbed her other hand with an encouraging look on her face. Inside, Contessina was terrified of the next few minutes. The pain did not scare her, but the thought of her child being still born or worse, she herself suffering from complications which could lead to her death. This was a whole new territory for her and not one of her choosing.

"Push girl! Push!" Lucia's voice kept her attention as pain tore through Contessina making her yell out from the unrelenting burning sensation she had never felt before. Another strong contraction and she yelled out a final time before relief came and then she laid eyes on her child for the first time.

"Well done, Contessina. Well done." Carlotta gave her a joyful look as the child began to wail. Contessina looked over to her mother and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks at the sight of her new grandchild. She herself was crying at the sight of her baby and then she reached for her newborn, sobbing as Lucia handed the child to her.

"All this fuss over you, and here you are." Contessina looked down at her child and saw the resemblance to Ezio and of course the dark hair. "You look like your father." She said kissing the child's forehead with a smile and happy tears in her eyes.

"He does." Maria's voice spoke up for the first time in years causing Contessina to gasp. "There is no denying it." The older woman said leaning down to kiss the blond on the forehead with a happy smile on her face.

Ezio had paced through the whole ordeal as he was prone to doing in stressful situations, but the cries from the room upstairs made him agitated. No man likes to hear his beloved screaming in pain and no matter how hard he tried to talk himself into downplaying the situation it always ended up taking a dark turn. What if the child was dead? What if Contessina died too? What if the child survived and she did not? Then sometimes he would go to the typical thoughts a first-time father often thought about. Was it a boy? A girl? Both? He shook his head on that one. Twins would be a little much. Did the child look like Contessina or did it look like him?

If anyone walked in at that moment, they would see a very different Ezio Auditore da Firenze. The Ezio that worried and had no idea what the hell he was doing, not the one that was a composed and calculated assassin. He hoped his fears were nothing and that all would be well with the birth of his first child (that he knew of). Of course, hearing Contessina's yells did nothing to calm those fears, but when the yelling stopped it only made him worry more. That was until his sister came out of the room with a happy look on her face and his worries disappeared for a moment.

"Claudia?" Ezio stopped his pacing as she made her way down the stairs and over to him before embracing him tightly. He was slightly taken aback by this strange mood his sister was in, but he decided not to question it. "What is it? Is everything alright?" He said pulling away from her.

"It's a boy." Claudia told him and he did not know how to react at first. A boy. He had a son. Upon hearing this Ezio saw his uncle come out of his study with a broad grin on his face. The jovial man walked up to his nephew and embraced him tightly enough to cut off the younger man's air for a moment.

"Congratulations, Nipote!" Mario yelled out before letting go of Ezio who had yet to understand he actually had a son now. The reality had not sunken in yet and probably would not until he laid eyes on the boy. "I suppose we should start preparing for that feast, Claudia."

"Give it a couple weeks, Zio." The young woman said. "Let Ezio and Contessina adjust to the idea of a newborn." Somehow, Ezio felt like his sister was hinting at something he missed before.

"You're right." Mario said. "You should go introduce yourself to your son, Nipote." He put a hand on Ezio's shoulder, and the young man nodded not sure what reality he was in at the moment, but he decided it was time to walk forward.

He was only nineteen years old, having married at seventeen and in the same year he had lost his father and two brothers to treachery. As he walked up the stairs, he thought about everything he had learned and gone through in the last two years. He had another role to fill besides a banker's son, husband, and then assassin. The last one being something that had chosen him against his better judgement, but this new role was something he felt underprepared for. It was bigger than any of his roles before and it involved another life. He was young, and there were men out there that had become fathers at ages younger than him but managed well. However, they were not assassins and he had no idea how to balance the two roles. The only example he had to go by was that of Giovanni Auditore, his own father.

Opening the door to Contessina's room he watched as the women stood back to let him pass while Maria walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek. She smiled at him for the first time in a long time before kissing his cheek and moving away so he could move to Contessina where she sat up in the bed with their son in her arms. His exhausted wife smiled at him with the brightest look in her blue eyes before she held her son out to his father.

"Mind his head." She told Ezio as he took the baby into his arms and held him with steady hands. The boy looked up at him with wide eyes and that was when Ezio knew his son was going to be trouble. He smiled as he sat on the bed next to Contessina and leaned over to kiss her with as much passion he could muster.

"I think it is time we left." Carlotta said to the other women around and ushering them out of the door to announce the new to the rest of the village. "If you need anything, all you need do is say the word." The brunette said as she shut the door behind her leaving the couple alone with their newborn.

"Your mother said he looks just like you." Contessina said pulling away from the kiss to see his face and then looked down at the boy in his arms to see the uncanny resemblance. There was almost nothing of her in her son, but then again, he was an infant. "What are we going to call him?" There was another problem. They had not decided on a name for either sex.

"If he had been a girl, Giulia." Ezio said handing his son back to his mother. "It is almost expected of me to name him after my father." He told his wife as she looked down at her sleepy son who was barely two hours old.

"We would be naming him after both of our fathers." That was right, her father was also Giovanni only the name sounded cursed now because they had both died before their natural time. As much as they both respected and loved their fathers, it did not seem appropriate. "But everyone is naming their sons Giovanni these days." Contessina said before putting a thoughtful look on her face. "What about your ancestor, Domenico? It's a strong name and it's important to your family." Ezio looked down at his son and then back up to Contessina who seemed to like the name. It was not a name that was heard around Italia that often.

"Domenico Auditore." Ezio tried it out and found it fit his son perfectly while not losing any of the importance to his family. Not that it mattered, but tradition was rooted in family. "Si, that will do."

"_Bene" _Contessina smiled before leaning against her husband as they admired the child.

**The saga continues...in The Assassin's Wife **


End file.
